Cerinthe minorL. - Lesser Honeywort
Scientific Description:
Biennial or perennial. Stems erect, 25−75 cm, simple or branched above. Basal leaves spathulate to oblanceolate, obtuse, blade attenuate into petiole; cauline linear-oblong, lanceolate-elliptic or obovate, to 8 × 2.8 cm, obtuse, sessile, ± amplexicaul. Bracts usually greenish. Calyx divided ± to base, lobe lanceolate, acute, margins ciliate. Corolla yellow, maroon, purple or violet-suffused, 10−11 × 3.5–4.5 mm, divided to c. ½, tube straight, lobes lanceolate, acute. Nutlets c. 3.5 × 3 mm, ovoid-globose.
Flowering time: May−August.
Habitat: Slopes, screes, gravel banks, fields, field-margins, roadsides, 150−2400 m.
subsp. auriculata (Ten.) Domac.
Pedicels scabrous to hispidulous. Corolla broader in upper ½ of tube. Nutlets dark brown to blackish.
Reference:
Edmondson JR (1978). Cerinthe minor L., In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 6: 376.
Public Description:
Cerinthe minor subsp. auriculata, common name “lesser honeywort”, is distributed in Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkan Peninsula, Türkiye, Iraq, the Caucasus and Iran. It is a short-lived perennial, with stems which are shorter than 50 cm, yellow or chestnut-colored flowers and purple or violet tinged. It can be usually seen in flower at sunny and semi-shady places, in the summer months.
References:
Anonymous 1 (2015). http://encyclopaedia.alpinegardensociety.net/plants/Cerinthe/minor/, Accessed date: 22.12.2015.
Anonymous 2 (2015). http://en.hortipedia.com/wiki/Cerinthe_minor/, Accessed date: 22.12.2015.
Körüklü ST (2012). Cerinthe L., In: Güner, A., Aslan, S., Ekim, T., Vural, M. & Babaç, M.T. (eds.), Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi (Damarlı Bitkiler). Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını. İstanbul, pp. 225.