ANTHEMIS CHIA

Family and Genus:- See- COMPOSITAE/Subgen. ANTHEMIS/Sect. CHIA

Common Name:- None

Homotypic Synonyms:- None

Meaning:- Anthemis (Gr) Flowery.

Chia (L) For the Greek island of Chios.

General description:- Low to medium, almost glabrous annual.

Stems:-

1) 5-40 cm, many, simple or sparingly branched, erect or ascending.

Leaves:-

1) Petiolate or sessile, 1- to 2-pinnatisect, with patent segments.

2) Lobes, triangular or ovate, acute or obtuse, mucronate.

Flowers:-

1) Capitula, up to 45 mm diam.

2) Peduncles, long, not clavate.

3) Involucre, nearly flat, subglabrous.

a) bracts, outer triangular-lanceolate, acute, with scarious margins.

b) bracts, inner oblanceolate or oblong to obovate, obtuse to acute.

4) Ligules, longer than the diameter of the disc.

5) Tubular florets, swollen and spongy in the lower 1/3 in fruit.

6) Receptacular scales, oblong to lanceolate, subobtuse to acute, but not

mucronate.

Fruit:-

1) Achenes, 2-2·5 mm (excl. auricle), subcylindrical to obconical, with 7-10 rather

prominent, narrow ribs.

Key features:-

1) Ligulate, florets fertile.

2) Receptacle, hemispherical to hemispherical-ovoid.

3) Achenes, of ligules and sometimes of the outer tubular florets with a large

hyaline auricle up to as long as the achene, the others with a very short thick

corona.

4) Involucral bracts, usually with a dark brown or black margin.

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Cultivated, fallow and waste ground, olive groves, orchards, roadsides.0-

1100(1500) m, often gregarious.

Distribution:- Italy and Sicily eastwards, including Cyprus. Widespread and

common on Crete.

Flowering time:- Mar-June.

Photos by:- Steve Lenton