The White Flower of Limestone Summits

Habit: A perennial herb 20-60 cm tall. Stem: Striate, with alternate leaves distributed along its entire length, ending in a long naked peduncle that bears the inflorescence. Leaves: Alternate, without stipules, arranged spirally. The blade ranges from deeply toothed to pinnatifid or pinnatisect, with slender lobes that may be simple, bifid or trifid, giving the foliage a distinctly cut appearance. Flowers: A solitary large capitulum, 3-6 cm across. Receptacle naked and plano-convex, protected by an involucre of bracts arranged in 3-4 series with a dark scarious margin. Outer florets ligulate, white and zygomorphic; central disc florets tubular, yellow, hermaphrodite and actinomorphic. Fruits: An achene with 10 prominent sub-winged ribs, topped by a small crown-like pappus. Flowering: May-September.

Chorological type: Subendemic. Distribution: Present mainly in the western Alps and along the mountain massifs of the Central Apennines. Habitat: It colonises dry meadows, stony slopes, screes and rock fissures, showing a preference for calcareous substrates, between 1600 and 2400 m above sea level.

Generic name (Leucanthemum): From the Greek leukos, “white”, and anthos, “flower”, referring to the bright white ray florets surrounding the yellow disc. Specific name (coronopifolium): Refers to the resemblance of the leaves to those of the genus Coronopus, characterized by deep incisions and slender lobes.