Asteraceae
Launaea

Launaea mucronata (Forssk.) Muschl.

First published in Man. Fl. Egypt 2: 1057 (1912)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Canary Islands (Fuerteventura) to Iran and Arabian Peninsula. It is a perennial or subshrub and grows primarily in the subtropical biome.

Descriptions

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Ghazanfar, S. A., Edmondson, J. R. & Hind, D. J. N. (Eds). (2019). Flora of Iraq, Volume 6: Compositae.Kew Publishing

Morphology General Habit
Perennial, tap-rooted, woody at base, erect, much-branched, stems leafy, 30–50 cm tall
Morphology Leaves
Leaves both in a rosette and cauline, elliptic or oblanceolate, clasping stems at base, up to 15 × 6 cm, strongly irregularly dissected, toothed, glabrous, green or greyish
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Capitulum
Capitula about 45-flowered, terminal on ultimate branches, usually singly, fusiform to oblong; phyllaries multiseriate, imbricate, ovate, acuminate, not white-margined, with or without white apices, lengthening in fruit
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Florets exceeding involucre  by  about  0.5  cm.  Achenes  cylindrical, 4–5 × 0.3 mm, 4-partite, outer grey, papillose, middle brown, rugulose, inner empty and abortive; pappus dimorphic, 6–10 mm, persistent.
Ecology
In the foothills on stony ground, sandstone hills, on sandy gravel in the desert, sometimes with calcareous substrate; alt. up to ± 400 m;
Phenology
flowering & fruiting: (Feb.-)Mar.-Apr.(-May).
Distribution
Occasional in the steppe region, very common in the desert region and on irrigated alluvial plains. Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Arabia (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, Oman, Bahrain), N Africa.
Vernacular
MURARA (MURRĀR, MURRAIR), Rawi 26825!; ‘ADHÎD (Southern Desert, Guest & Rawi 18860!) – a name also recorded by Carter from Kuwait.
[FIQ]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Flora of Iraq

    • Ghazanfar, S. A., Edmondson, J. R. (Eds). (2013-2019). Flora of Iraq, Volumes 5.1, 5.2 and 6.0. Kew Publishing
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images