AMBROSIA MARITIMA

Family and Genus:- See- COMPOSITAE

Common Names:- None

Homotypic Synonyms:- None

Meaning:- Ambrosia (Gr) Elixir-of-life, (divine food). A name used by the Greek

physician and botanist Dioscorides for Ambrosia maritima.

Maritima (L) Growing by the sea, of the sea.

General description:- Erect, branched, aromatic annual.

Stems:-

1) Up to 125 cm. often woody below.

Leaves:-

1) Petiolate, deeply bipinnate. grey-tomentose beneath; lobes ovate to lanceolate.

Flowers:-

1) Male involucre, 3 mm diam., cupuliform.

2) Bracts, connate, crenately lobed, usually pubescent.

3) Male flowers, 10-15; corolla present.

4) Female, capitula in axillary clusters; involucre 3-5 mm, 5-angled in fruit,

glandular-pubescent, with 5 conical tubercles; beak, 0·5 mm; corolla absent.

Fruit:-

1) Achenes, obovoid, smooth.

Key features:-

1) Involucre, in fruit 5-angled, glandular-pubescent with 4-7 acute, spinose teeth or

5 conical. tubercles.

2) Plant, aromatic.

3) Beak, 0·5 mm.

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Sandy and ruderal coastal habitats, rarely a short distance inland. 0-10

Distribution:- Mediterranean region. West Crete, very rare, the last published

record from Crete of this species was in 1883.

Flowering time:- July-Dec.

Photos by:- Fotis Samaritakis