The Hairy Flower of Woodland Edges

Habit: Perennial herbaceous plant 20–50 cm tall. Leaves: Arranged alternately and tending to grow erect, semi-clasping the stem at the base. The blade is elliptic-lanceolate with an obtuse apex. Their texture is coriaceous and scabrous, marked by very evident reticulate veins on the lower surface and protected by a dense tomentum. Flowers: Gathered in solitary capitula, exceptionally large in relation to the size of the plant (4–5 cm in diameter). The involucre is flattened and composed of triangular scales with acute tips. As is typical of the Asteraceae, the flowers are of two types: the peripheral ones are female and ligulate (with a long yellow ray), while the central ones are hermaphroditic and tubular, also golden yellow. Fruits: An oblong achene surmounted by a pappus that facilitates anemochorous dispersal (by wind). Flowering: April–October.

Chorological type: Southern European / South-Siberian. Distribution in Italy: Present in almost all regions of continental Italy. It is noticeably rarer in the southern regions, while absent from the major islands. Habitat: Commonly found along shrub margins, in open woodlands, and in more evolved xeric grasslands, up to 1500 m a.s.l.

Generic name (Pentanema): From the Greek pénte (five) and néma (thread, filament). The name refers to the structure of the pappus in some species of the genus, originally described as having five filiform scales. Specific name (hirtum): From the Latin hirtus (rough, bristly, shaggy), a term that perfectly describes the dense, stiff hairiness covering stem and leaves, making the plant rough to the touch.