SPECIES DESCRIPTION
CAPPARIS SPINOSA subsp. SPINOSA
Including Capparis spinosa subsp. rupestris
Family and Genus:- See- CAPPARACEAE
Common Name:- Caper
Homotypic Synonyms:- Capparis Spinosa
Meaning:- Capparis (Gr) From the Arabic, kabar, for capers.
Spinosa (L) Spiny, with spines.
General description:- Straggling greyish shrub, with pairs of spines at each leaf
base.
Stems:-
1) Up to 1.5 m, trailing or pendent, much-branched.
Leaves:-
1) Alternate, short petiolate, ovate to suborbicular, obtuse or distinctly emarginate,
sometimes obscurely mucronate.
2) Stipules setaceous to spiny spinose, often recurved, but sometimes weakly
developed. rounded to oval, untoothed, thick, not spine-tipped.
Flowers:-
1) Slightly zygomorphic, 50-70mm, white, occasionally flushed with pink.
2) Sepals, purplish.
Fruit:-
1) Large and berry-like, to 50 mm, green or yellowish, oblong to pyriform, splitting
eventually into two.
Key features:-
1) Stipules, setaceous to spinose,
Habitat:- Rocky habitats, cliffs and walls etc. 0-300(-800) m.
Distribution:- Coastal areas throughout Greece and the Mediterranean region very
variable, often cultivated. Fairly limited distribution on Crete mainly around the
central region.
.
Flowering time:- May-July.
Photos by:- Steve Lenton
CAPPARIS SPINOSA subsp. RUPESTRIS
Homotypic Synonyms:- None
Meaning:- Rupestris (L) Of rock, living in rocky places.
Resembling subsp. spinosa, but differering in the following characters
1) Stems, ± simple.
2) Stipules, small or absent, not spine-tipped.
Habitat:- As for subsp. spinosa,
Distribution:-
Flowering time:- As for subsp. spinosa,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~