ROEMERIA HYBRIDA subsp. HYBRIDA

Family and Genus:- See- PAPAVERACEAE

Common Names:- Violet horned-poppy.

Homotypic Synonyms:- Chelidonium hybridum, Chelidonium violaceum,

Glaucium violaceum.

Meaning:- Roemeria (L) For Johann Jacob Roemer (1763-1891). A Swiss

physican, botanist and entomologist.

Hybrida (L) Mongrel, half-breed, hybrid.

General description:- Annual, 20-45 cm, usually with a fine interlaced covering of

hairs resembling a spider's web, sometimes with some bristles or stiff hairs.

Stem:-

1) 10-30 cm tall, erect or ascending, often branched from the base.

Leaves:-

1) 1- to 3-pinnatipartite.

2) Upper, sessile.

2) Lower, petiolate.

Flowers:-

1) Solitary or few.

2) Pedicels, 2-5 cm. usually with few arachnoid hairs.

3) Buds, nodding, usually with few arachnoid hairs.

4) Petals, 12-22 mm, narrowly obovate, violet, darker at the base but without a

distinct basal spot.

5) Anthers, violet or yellow.

Fruit:-

1) Capsule, 4·5-9·5 x 0·2-0·4 cm, rarely shorter, linear, usually with setae only in

upper 1/2 but sometimes throughout.

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Cultivated and fallow fields, olive groves, streambeds and coastal habitats.

0700 m.

Distribution:- From Greece and Libya to Pakistan, Limited distribution across the

Aegean region. On Crete currently known from only two areas.

Flowering time:- Late Mar to early June.

Photos by:- Thomas Giannakis