The Endemic Widow Flower

Habit: A perennial herb that can reach 1 m in height. Stems: Erect, robust and openly branched, bearing numerous terminal flower heads. Leaves: Opposite, without stipules and glabrous, divided in a lyrate to once- or twice-pinnatisect manner, always exceeding 4 cm in length. Flowers: Borne in solitary radiate heads, 2-2.5 cm across, at the tip of each branch. Corolla pale pink and five-lobed; outer florets zygomorphic, with the external lobe larger and characteristically crenate. Calyx topped by five pale awns about twice the length of the basal involucre. Fruits: A hairy achene about 2 mm long, tightly enclosed by a membranous involucre about 1.5 mm long. Flowering: May-August.

Chorological type: Italian endemic. Distribution: Restricted exclusively to the regions of peninsular southern Italy, absent from Sicily and northern regions. Habitat: It colonises sandy and clayey slopes on silica-rich substrates, between 300 and 1000 m above sea level.

Generic name (Lomelosia): Derived from the Greek loma, “border” or “edge”, probably referring to the particular membranous crown adorning the ripe achenes. Specific name (crenata): A Latin term describing the crenate, that is rounded-toothed, shape of the outer petals, a diagnostic floral character. Subspecific name (pseudisetensis): Composed of the Greek prefix pseudo-, “false”, and the Latin seta, alluding to the leaf shape, which may appear erroneously bristle-like or filiform at first glance.