| Plant |
Height 15-250 cm, taproot thin, branched |
| Stem |
Stiffly erect, sulcate, straw-coloured, glabrous or in lower part hispid, usually branched in upper half |
| Stem leaves |
Narrowly elliptic to obovate, 3-22 cm long, 1.5-10.0 cm wide, pinnatisect to pinnatifid, glabrous except for the spinulose margins and undersurface of midrib, glaucous on both surfaces. Terminal lobe oblong to deltoid, obtuse. Lateral lobes 2-6, oblong, subtruncate. Lower leaves petiole-like attenuate. Middle and upper leaves auriculate with projecting blunt or acute auricles to attenuate |
| Inflorescence |
Racemiform in depauperate plants or paniculiform, with more than 50 heads. Peduncle up to 2.5 cm long, often very short, glabrous, covered with bracts. Peduncle bracts obtuse, sagittate or auriculate |
| Heads |
7-50 flowers. Involucre at flowering ovoid or cylindrical, 8-15 mm long, at flowering 3-4 mm in diameter. Outer involucral bracts narrowly ovate, 2-3 mm long, 1.0-1.5 mm wide, subacute. Iinner involucral bracts 8-10 mm long, c. 2 mm wide. Receptacle flat, pitted, naked. Flowers closing before midday. Corolla ligulate, yellow (drying blue), at the apex villose. Tube c. 4 mm long. Ligule c. 5-7 mm long, 1.5 mm wide. Anthertube c. 2.5 mm long. Apical appendages obtuse or subacute. Style 6-7 mm long. Branches c. 0.5 mm long |
| Achenes |
Obovoid to fusiform in outline, strongly compressed, 2.8-4.2 mm long (without beak), 1.2-1.5 mm wide, scabridulous or shortly pilose, pale brown or olive-grey, with 5-9 ribs on each face, with a filiform beak, ending in a distinct apical disk. Beak 3.0-3.5 mm long, whitish. Pappus white, 3-7 mm long, flexible, remotely scabridulous |
| Reference |
Source: Cichorieae Portal - based on Meikle R.D. (1985) Flora auf Cyprus 2. Kew; Sell P. & Murell G. (2006) Flora of Great Britain and Ireland 4. Cambridge |
