Cheirolophus crassifolius, the Maltese centaury, Maltese rock-centaury or Widnet il-Baħar, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is endemic to Malta, where it has been the national plant of Malta since 1973. Its natural habitats are cliffs and coastal valleys. It is threatened by habitat loss.
It is scarce but widespread in the wild on the western cliffs of Malta, rare on the southern cliffs of Gozo, but frequent as a cultivated species in roundabouts. It is quite common in the limits of Wied Babu in the south east of Malta.
It was first described by Stefano Zerafa, around 1830, as the only species of the monotypic genusPalaeocyanus. However, around the year 2000, it was transferred to Cheirolophus, in the light of genetic studies done in that year. The name Cheirolophus means hand-crest,[2] referring to the hand-shaped bract tips of the most species in this genus, while crassifolius mean thick leaves. The leaves are succulent and spoon shaped. The variety serratifolia (serrated leaves) is very rare, and only known from Gozo. This species is cultivated due to its national importance. They are purple and have green stems. The top of the stem looks like a rock and that's why it is called the Maltese rock-century.
References
^Stevens, D.; Lanfranco, E. (2006). "Cheirolophus crassifolius". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2006: e.T61621A12524967. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2006.RLTS.T61621A12524967.en. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
^Quattrocchi, Umberto (1999). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology, Volume 1 A-C. CRC Press. p. 507.
This Cynareae article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
cheirolophus, crassifolius, maltese, centaury, maltese, rock, centaury, widnet, baħar, species, flowering, plant, family, asteraceae, endemic, malta, where, been, national, plant, malta, since, 1973, natural, habitats, cliffs, coastal, valleys, threatened, hab. Cheirolophus crassifolius the Maltese centaury Maltese rock centaury or Widnet il Baħar is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae It is endemic to Malta where it has been the national plant of Malta since 1973 Its natural habitats are cliffs and coastal valleys It is threatened by habitat loss Cheirolophus crassifoliusConservation statusCritically Endangered IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classificationKingdom PlantaeClade TracheophytesClade AngiospermsClade EudicotsClade AsteridsOrder AsteralesFamily AsteraceaeGenus CheirolophusSpecies C crassifoliusBinomial nameCheirolophus crassifolius Bertol SusannaSynonymsCentaurea crassifoliaCentaurea spathulataPalaeocyanus crassifolius DostalCheirolophus crassifolius flower head It is scarce but widespread in the wild on the western cliffs of Malta rare on the southern cliffs of Gozo but frequent as a cultivated species in roundabouts It is quite common in the limits of Wied Babu in the south east of Malta It was first described by Stefano Zerafa around 1830 as the only species of the monotypic genus Palaeocyanus However around the year 2000 it was transferred to Cheirolophus in the light of genetic studies done in that year The name Cheirolophus means hand crest 2 referring to the hand shaped bract tips of the most species in this genus while crassifolius mean thick leaves The leaves are succulent and spoon shaped The variety serratifolia serrated leaves is very rare and only known from Gozo This species is cultivated due to its national importance They are purple and have green stems The top of the stem looks like a rock and that s why it is called the Maltese rock century References Edit Stevens D Lanfranco E 2006 Cheirolophus crassifolius IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2006 e T61621A12524967 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2006 RLTS T61621A12524967 en Retrieved 15 November 2021 Quattrocchi Umberto 1999 CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names Common Names Scientific Names Eponyms Synonyms and Etymology Volume 1 A C CRC Press p 507 This Cynareae article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cheirolophus crassifolius amp oldid 1094346055, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
