BUPLEURUM ODONTITES

Family and Genus:- See- UMBELLIFERAE

Common Name:- None

Homotypic Synonyms:- Bupleurum fontanessii, Bupleurum sprunerianum.

Meaning:- Bupleurum (Gr) Ox-rib, an ancient name used by the Greek physician

and poet Nicander.

Odontites (Gr) Tooth related, (the name in Pliny refers to its use as

a toothache remedy).

General description:- Erect annual.

Stem:-

1) 20-50 cm tall.

Leaves:-

1) Narrowly linear-lanceolate.

Flowers:-

1) Umbels, yellow, usually numerous.

2) Rays, 4-6(-8) very unequal.

3) Bracts, lanceolate, equalling or exceeding the longest ray.

a) bractlets, lanceloate, acuminate, exceeding the flowers and enclosing them

before and after anthesis ± scarious and transparent throughout except for the

veins, with 3 strong longitudinal veins and conspicuous, curved lateral veins.

Fruit:-

1) 1.5-2 mm, broadly oblong. smooth

Key features:-

1) Bracts, scarious throughout.

2) Bractlets, herbaceous at least in the central part; with conspicuous veins.

Click here for a glossary of terms used

Habitat:- Cultivated and fallow fields, olive groves, dry pastures. 0-700 m.

Distribution:- S Italy, E Balkan Peninsula; rare in the Mediterranean area and

sometimes casual elsewhere. Probably native in SW Asia and introduced to Europe

with early agriculture; declining in most of Greece except in the SE where it also

grows in semi-natural habitats. The single Cretan record goes back to Sieber (c.

1820)

Flowering time:- Apr-July.

Photos by:- Charalambos Chiotelis (photographed in Greece)