SPECIES DESCRIPTION
SCANDIX AUSTRALIS subsp. AUSTRALIS
Family and Genus:- See- UMBELLIFERAE
Common Names:- Southern shepherd's needle
Homotypic Synonyms:- None
Meaning:- Scandix (Gr) Ancient name for sheherd's needle.
Australis (L) Southern, of the south.
General description:- Slender, erect annual.
Stems:-
1) 10-40 cm tall.
Leaves:-
1) 1-3-pinnate, with linear ultimate segments, c.1 mm wide.
Flowers:-
1) Rays, (2-)3-5, not thickened in fruit.
2) Bracts, absent;
a) bracteoles, very variable in shape and pubescence, often with a membranous
margin, hairy or glabrous.
3) Marginal petals, only slightly longer than the rest and not conspicuously radiate.
4) Styles, c. 0.5 mm, at least twice as long as the stylopodium.
Fruit:-
1) 15-40 mm; only slightly compressed and not distinctly separated from seed-
bearing part
Key features:-
1) Rays, (2-)3-5, not thickened in fruit.
2) Beak of fruit, only slightly compressed and not distinctly separated from seed-
bearing part.
Habitat:- Rocky slopes, occasionally in fields. 0-1600 m.
Distribution:- Widespread throughout the Mediterranean area. Widespread and
common on Crete.
Flowering time:- Apr-May.
Photos by:- Courtesy of Wiki-Commons
