SPECIES DESCRIPTION
KUNDMANNIA SICULA
Family and Genus:- See- UMBELLIFERAE
Common Name:- None
Homotypic Synonyms:- None
Meaning:- Kundmannia (L) Perhaps for Johann Christian Kundmann (1684-1751)
Sicula (Gr) From Sicily, Sicilian.
General description:- Glabrous perennial.
Stems:-
1) 30-70 cm.
Leaves:-
1) Lower, usually 2-pinnate with a pair of supplementary segments at the base of
each pair of primary segments;
a) lobes, ovate, crenate-serrate.
2) Lowest, sometimes lobed.
3) Upper cauline, 1-pinnate, the segments deeply incise-serrate or lacerate.
Flowers:-
1) Umbels, long-pedunculate, with 5-25 subequal rays.
2) Bracts, and bractlets, numerous, linear-lanceolate.
3) Petals, yellow, with an involute apex.
Fruit:-
1) 6-10 mm, cylindrical, at least 3 times as long as wide, with slender ridges.
Key features:-
1) Fruit, unwinged ridges without a thickened or wing-like edge, at least 3 times as
long as wide.
2) Flowers, yellow.
3) Fruit, at least 3 times as long as wide.
4) Lobes, of lower leaves broadly ovate.
Habitat:- Rocky places in dry open shrubby vegetation, dry grassland, olive groves
and fallow fields. 0-400 m.
Distribution:- Rare in S Peloponnisos and Ionian Islands. - Mediterranean region
from S Portugal and Morocco to Greece. Scattered across NW Crete, where it is
not too common.
.
Flowering time:- Apr-May.
Photos by:- Kind permission of Saxifraga - Free Nature Images & Wiki-Commons
