FUMARIA MACROCARPA

Family and Genus:- See- FUMARIACEAE

Common Names:- None

Homotypic Synonyms:- Fumaria megalocarpa

Meaning:- Fumaria (L) Smoke.

Macrocarpa (Gr) Large-fruited.

General description:- Short annual.

Stems:-

1) 20-100 cm. diffuse and decumbent to scandent.

Leaves:-

1) Ultimate leaf lobes narrowly obovate, acute.

Flowers:-

1) Racemes, 4-10(-15)-flowered, shorter than peduncle.

2) Bracts, acuminate, l/2-3/4 as long as the suberect, strongly thickened, obconical

fruiting pedicels.

3) Sepals, small (1-2.5 x 0.5-1 mm), acute, dentate at base.

4) Corolla, 8-1 l mm, white or pale pink; inner petals concolorous or tipped dark

purple on the adaxial side only.

Fruit:-

1) Globose, c. 3.5 mm, slightly keeled, coarsely tuberculate-rugose, with a large

apical pit.

Key features:-

1) Sepals, 2·5-3 x 0·5-1 mm.

Click here for a glossary of terms used.

Habitat:- Disturbed stony ground, bushy places at the bases of cliffs, margins of

fields and orchards, rarely a weed of cultivated fields. 0-800 m. on various

substrates.

Distribution:- Scattered an fairly rare in W Greece. - W Anatolia, Cyprus W Syria,

Palastine and Cyrenaica. Somewhat scattered occurrence on Crete.

Flowering time:- Mid-Mar to mid-May.

Photos by:- Steve Lenton