Phlomis
lychnitis
Linnaeus
Sp. Pl. 585
(1753)
Illustr.:
Bot. Mag. t. 999 (1807)
Distribution
in the wild:
France, Spain & Portugal,
lychnitis
is the name of a herb mentioned
by Pliny.
In
Spain the leaves have been used for lamp-wicks and the common
name is Candelera.
This
species may need protection from the worst of winter’s wet
with glass or cloche. The long narrow grey leaves are very
characteristic as are the rhombic floral leaves or bracts
which tightly clasp the whorls in bud.
Sometimes
used to adulterate sage (Salvia officinalis)
Sub-shrub
to 65 cm. Leaves linear, margins entire, upper surface
grey/green, stellate hairy and puckered to 15 × 1 cm, arranged
in tufts. Leaves taper to base which is flat on upper surface.
Flowering stems unbranched, bearing up to six whorls per
stem each with up to 10 flowers. Whorls 4-5 cm across. Floral
leaves 3-6.5 × 1.8-2.5 cm, upright, rhombic, stalkless,
and clasping the calyces in bud. Bracteoles linear 10-20
× 1 mm. Calyx to 20 mm with 5 veins. Calyx and bracteoles
covered in long silky multijointed hairs arising from stellate
bases. Glandular hairs also present; teeth 2-6 mm. Corolla
20-30 mm, yellow. Nutlets hairless.
One
variety (P. lychnitis var. virens)
has been described based on the greener colour of the upper
surface of the leaves and plant’s greater size. Mateu’s
view is that this variety falls within the variability of
the species and should be included in the synonymy.
Natural
hybrids of P. crinita Cavanilles and P.
lychnitis Linnaeus:
They
have leaf-shapes between the two species. The most recent
descriptions (Mateu 1986) rely heavily on the hair type
present, but in my experience this is not borne out in natural
populations and so I rely on the leaf shape as drawn by
Pau:
Parent
1:
P.
crinita Cavanilles [Drawing (a)]
Icon. Descr.
Pl. 3:25 t. 247 (1795)
Leaves
very thick, ovate, cordate at base, 6-18 × 2-5 cm. Calyces
with 10 veins. Flower stems to 75 cm.
P.
×composita Pau [Drawing (b)]
Bol. Soc. Arag.
Ci. Nat. 17:132 (1918)
Leaves
very thick, oblong, somewhat cuneate at base, 3-21 × 0.5-5.5
cm Calyces with 5 or 10 veins. Flower stems to 100cm.
P.
×trullenquei Pau [Drawing (c)]
Butll. Inst. Catal.
Hist. Nat. 18:161 (1918)
Synonym:
P.
×composita Pau nm. trullenquei (Pau) Mateu
Acta Bot. Malacitana 11:193 (1986)
Leaves
thick and velvet like, oblong, decurrent with petiole .
8-20 × 1.5- 2.5 cm. Calyces with 5 veins. Flower stems to
100 cm.
P. ×almijarensis Pau [Drawing
(d)]
Mem. Mus. Ci.
Nat. Barcelona 1(1):64
(1922) Synonym: P.
×composita Pau nm. almijarensis (Pau) Mateu
Acta Bot. Malacitana 11: 193 (1986)
Leaves
linear or elliptic and thicker than P. lychnitis.
Length: width < 7. Calyces with 5 veins. Stems to 75
cm.
Parent
2:
P.
lychnitis Linnaeus [Drawing (e)]
Sp. Pl.
585 (1753)
Leaves
linear 15 × 1 cm. Calyces with 5 veins. Flower stems to
65 cm.
The
following variety described by Pau is probably another hybrid
between the above two parents with a leaf somewhat between
Drawing (a) and (b)
P.
crinita var. malacitana
Pau
Mem.
Mus. Ci. Nat. Barcelona 1(1):64 (1922)
Synonym:P.
×composita Pau nm. malacitana (Pau) Mateu
Acta Bot. Malacitana 11:194 (1986)
Leaves
ovate, cordate at base, extra thick indumentum, 9-15 × 2.5-4
cm. Simple hairs dominate. Calyces with 10 veins. Flower
stems to 75
cm.
