Phlomis
italica
Linnaeus
Syst.
Nat. ed. 10 (2):1102 (1759)
Illust.:
Bot. Mag. t. 9270 (1929)
Synonyms:
P.
rotundifolia Miller
P.
balearica Chodat
P.
italica Smith
The epithet
italica was given by Linnaeus as it had arrived from
or via Italy, but the plant only grows in the Balearic islands.
Chodat’s epithet balearica of 1905, if it had been
accepted, would have saved a lot of arguments, as
Phlomis italica is endemic to the Balearic Islands particularly
the Gimnesias ones (Mallorca and Minorca).
Originally
described as a sub-shrub up to about 30 cm (Botanical
Magazine t. 9270) and described as such in the RHS
Dictionary (1951) and Index of Garden Plants by
Mark Griffiths (1994), this was revised to 2 m (Mateu, 1986).
The taller shrubs are more numerous in Mallorca. The smaller
growing forms in cultivation have an inferior flower colour
(usually upper lip whitish, lower one purplish), but only
grow to about 1 metre.
Recognised
from the lack of visible calyx teeth and the shorter bracteoles,
both covered in a dense loose indumentum.
A
popular plant in our gardens because of its hardiness and
the pleasant pink colour of one of the clones in cultivation.
This pink form grows up to 2 m. in our gardens, but gradually
becomes somewhat naked in the lower regions. Better cut
back regularly, or best replaced after five years if not.
Although it has been in cultivation for many years I have
now given it the name P. italica ‘Pink Glory’
to distinguish it from
the inferior smaller ones with purplish flowers, now being
introduced.
Grown
by Philip Miller (1768) at the Chelsea Physic Garden.
P.
italica Linnaeus subsp. italica
Distribution
in the wild: Endemic
to the Balearic Islands.
Evergreen shrub to 2 m, commonly
1 m. Lower leaf laminas ovate-lanceolate, densely stellate
woolly, cordate or truncate at base, crenate at margin,
3 - 9 × 1.5 - 3 cm; petioles to 6 cm. Floral leaves lanceolate-oblong
3-6 × 0.8-2 cm; petiole to 1.2 cm. White felted stems (easily
removable stellate hairs) bearing up to 4 whorls of around
10 flowers. Whorls 3-4 cm across. Bracteoles to 7-12 × 1.5
mm. Calyx tubular to 15 mm, rounded equal teeth to 2 mm
with a minute mucro usually hidden in the indumentum (visible
in late winter when the indumentum wears off). Bracteoles
and calyx densely felted with loosely held stellate hairs.
Corolla to 20 mm, colour variable, upper lip often pink
to white, lower lip sometimes blue/purple or white. Nutlets
hairless or with very short glandular hairs. Hardy to -15°C.
P.
italica L. subsp. antiatlantica (Peltier) Rivas-Martínez
Acta
Bot. Malacitana 2:59-64 (1976)
Distribution
in the wild:Morocco
at around 1500 m.
This
subspecies is found in the Anti-Atlas mountains of Morocco
and has a funnel shaped calyx 11-13 mm; corolla 17-20 mm,
pink; rounded teeth with teeth to 0.3 mm, covered in stellate-tomentose
indumentum. The nutlets have stellate hairs on the apex.
