Mercurialis annua L. Annual Mercury

Mercurialis annua L. - Annual Mercury

Scientific Description:

Glabrous or subglabrous annual. Stems 5−50 cm, much-branched, with 2 branches from base. Leaves ovate to elliptic-lanceolate, 1−7.5 × 0.3−3.5 cm, crenate-serrate, teeth usually sparsely ciliate; petioles 0.l−1.5(−4) cm. Stipules ovate-deltoid, 1(−2) mm. Male inflorescences 2−9 cm. Male calyx lobes pale yellow-green, translucent. Female flowers 1−4 per axil, shortly pedicellate. Ovary and fruit sparingly to evenly tuberculate, each tubercle bristle-tipped. Fruit 3−4 mm wide. Seeds ovoid, grey, shiny, minutely rugulose-tuberculate, 2 mm.

 

Flowering Time: February−July.

Habitat: Limestone slopes, pine (Pinus L.) forest, phrygana, waste places, s.l.−1100 m.

 

Reference:

Radcliffe-Smith A (1982). Mercurialis annua L., In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 7: 569.

Public Description:

Mercurialis annua, known as “annual mercury”, is native to Europe, Türkiye, North Africa, and the Middle East. It is an annual herb with pale yellow-green flowers and oppositely arranged oval leaves, and grows up to 50 cm in length. It blooms between February and July, is found in limestone slopes, Pinus forest, phrygana, waste places.

 

References:

Anonymous (2016). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercurialis_annua/, Accessed date: 09.02.2016.

Öztekin M (2012). Mercurialis 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. 424.