SPECIES DESCRIPTION
CHONDRILLA JUNCEA
Including:- Chondrilla ramosissima
Family:- COMPOSITAE
Common Name:- Chondrilla, Hogbite, Naked Weed, Rush Skeletonweed,
Skeleton Weed, Skeletonweed.
Synonyms:- Chondrilla canescens, Chondrilla latifolia.
Meaning:- Chondrilla. Meaning unknown.
Juncea (L) Like a small rush.
General description:- A medium to tall, greyish biennial or perennial, hairless or
stiffly hairy, especially in the lower part.
Stems:-
1) 50-100 cm, Usually solitary, with numerous ascending branches, glabrous or
with rigid hairs particularly below, sometimes with short appressed hairs.
Leaves:-
1) Glabrous or with a few rigid hairs.
2) Basal. 40-120 x 15-45 mm, soon withering, oblanceolate, more or less acute,
deeply and irregularly runcinate-dentate, narrowed to a short, winged petiole.
3) Lower cauline, usually like the basal, the remainder usually long-linear,
sometimes lanceolate, entire or denticulate.
Flowers:-
1) Capitula, numerous, with 9-12 florets, terminal, lateral or axillary, solitary or in
groups of 2-5 sessile or with rather short peduncles.
2) Involucre, 9-12 ? 2·5-5 mm.
3) Bracts, linear-lanceolate, obtuse to subacute, glabrous or sparsely tomentose,
sometimes with a row of rigid hairs on the median line, the inner 7-9.
Fruit:-
1) Achenes 8-10 mm.
2) Beak slender about half as long as to longer than the body.
Key features:-
1) Beak of achene more than 0·7 mm.
2) Branches ascending.
3) Stems glabrous or with patent rigid hairs or sparse short appressed hairs.
Habitat:- In maritime sand and as a weed of roadsides, fallow fields, etc. 0-1200 m.
Distribution:- Throughout Greece. - Mediterranean region and SW & C Asia;
introduced in Mediterranean-type areas elsewhere.. Fairly widespread and common
across Crete.
Flowering time:- May-Oct and sporadically at other times.
Photos by:- Steve Lenton
CHONDRILLA RAMOSISSISMA
Synonyms:- None
Meaning:- Ramosissima (L) Greatly branched, branching.
Resembling Chondrilla juncea, but differering in the following characters:
1) Divaricately branched.
2) Stem and branches relatively stout,± hispid throughout, conspicuously ridged
and angled, glaucous, grey-tomentose.
The single record in W Crete has not been recently confirmed.1)
1) "Atlas of the Aegean Flora" Book1, Arne Strid 2016.
Habitat:- Maritime habitats, fallow and harvested fields, dry grassland, olive groves,
0-700 m.
Distribution:- C Peluponnisos. - Endemic and of restricted distribution, On Crete
currently known from only one location
Flowering time:- Mostly July-October.
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