SPECIES DESCRIPTION
LIMONIUM CORNARIANUM
Family and Genus:- See- PLUMBAGINACEAE
Common Names:- None
Homotypic Synonyms:- None
Meaning:- Limonium (Gr) Meadow-plant. A name used by the Greek physician
and botanist Dioscorides.
Cornarianum Meaning unknown.
General description:- Gabrous perennial, forming a sub-shrub 15-45 cm tall, with
several erect to ascending stems and a robust tap-root.
Caudices:-
1) 9-20 mm long, branched, densely spirally leafy in the upper half; living leaves in
rosettes at apices.
Stems:-
1) 8-40 cm long, glaucous, slightly flexuous, verrucate to rugose, branching begins
above lower third of the stems.
2) Branches,
a) sterile, absent or only 1-3 per stem, 10-40 mm long, straight, unbranched.
b) fertile, 3-12 cm long, straight to slightly curved, directed obliquely upwards,
forming branching angles of 45°- 60°, loosely branched.
Leaves:-
1) 20-65 x 4-10 mm, fleshy, glaucous, flat, slightly verrucate to rugose, narrowly
oblanceolate-spathulate, apex obtuse to acute, sometimes mucronate, retuse,
margin revolute, with one central nerve, only sometimes with two lateral nerves,
gradually tapering into the petiole.
Flowers:-
1) Inflorescence, paniculate or rhombic to trullate in outline.
2) Spikes, 1-5 cm long, straight to slightly curved, directed obliquely upwards.
a) spikelets, 4.5-6.4 mm long, composed of 1-3 flowers, remotely to densely
arranged with 2-5 per cm; mainly distichous.
3) Bracts,
a) outer, 1.5-2.2 mm x 1.8-2.1 mm, triangular-ovate, acute, margin broadly
membranous, central part slightly fleshy, acuminate, sometimes slightly
keeled on the back.
b) middle, membranous, 1.6-2.5 x 1.2-1.8 mm, oblong-elliptic, rounded.
c) inner, 3.8-5.2 mm x 3.2-3.9 mm, obovate, rounded, margin more or less
narrowly membranous; central part fleshy, 3.5-4.2 x 2.0-2.5 mm, oblong to
oblong-obovate, acuminate, forming a triangular tip, 0.5-0.8 mm long, not
reaching the upper margin.
4) Calyx, 3.5-4.8 mm long, exceeding the inner bract by c.1.0 mm.
a) tube, sparsely long hairy, with 5 ribs ending at the base of lobes.
b) lobes, c. 0.6 × 0.9 mm, semi-elliptic.
5) Corolla, pale violet, 6-7mm, diam.
Habitat:- Coastal limestone cliffs and rocky slopes, occasionally a short distance
inland. 0-20(-100) m.
Distribution:- Cretan endemic. Known only from the Kapsa gorge and the Agia
Fotia islet . Very rare
Flowering time:- May-Aug.
Photos by:- Steve Lenton
