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Electronic Flora of South Australia species Fact Sheet

Family: Asteraceae
Hedypnois rhagadioloides

Citation: F.W. Schmidt, Samml. Phys.-Oekon.Aufsätze 1:279 (1795).

Synonymy: Hyoseris rhagadioloides L., Sp. Pl. 809 (1753); Hyoseris cretica L., Sp. Pl. 810 (1753); Hedypnois cretica (L.)Dum.-Cours., Bot. Cult. 2:339 (1802); Hedypnois polymorpha DC., Prod. 7:81 (1839).

Common name: Cretan weed, Cretan hedypnois.

Description:
Annual 3-30 cm high, softly herbaceous, pale-green; stems procumbent to erect, usually branched, hispidulous to subglabrous; basal leaves oblanceolate to oblong, obtuse, 2-16 cm long, 8-40 mm wide, shallowly sinuate-dentate to lyrate-pinnatipartite, scabrousopubescent, setulose along the mid-vein; cauline leaves elliptic to lanceolate, rounded at the base, acute, 0.5-10 cm long, 3-28 mm wide, entire to pinnatifid; peduncles 2-8 cm long, thickened and inflated toward the apex, setulose to hispidulous; involucre c. 1 cm diam.; inner bracts 10-16, narrowly lanceolate, somewhat accrescent, setulose to subglabrous; ligules 3-6 mm long.

Achenes 5-7 mm long, blackish, more or less incurred; pappus of outer achenes c. 1 mm long, of the inner achenes with 5 or 6 awns, 3.5-6 mm long.

Published illustration: Cunningham et al. (1982) Plants of western New South Wales, p. 715.

Distribution:  In pastures and other disturbed habitats.

  All States.   Native to southern Europe, and south-western Asia.

Conservation status: naturalised

Flowering time: Aug. — Oct.


SA Distribution Map based
on current data relating to
specimens held in the
State Herbarium of South Australia

Biology: Within its natural range the species comprises populations varying widely in morphology and in chromosome number (B. Nordenstam (1971) Bot. Not. is. 124:483-489.) Various infraspecific taxa have been recognised in Europe and the middle-east, but it is unknown whether Australian populations can be referred to any of these.

Author: Not yet available


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