Asteraceae
Pulicaria

Pulicaria arabica (L.) Cass.

First published in G.-F.Cuvier, Dict. Sci. Nat., ed. 2. 44: 94 (1826)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is S. & E. Medit. to Pakistan and Arabian Peninsula. It is an annual or perennial and grows primarily in the subtropical biome.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Annual or perennial herb 30–50 cm tall with a much-branched  stem,  side  branches making an angle of 45° to main stem and often overtopping it, green to reddish, pilose and glandular with hairs finally evanescent
Morphology Leaves
Leaves oblong to oblanceolate, sessile or with a petiolate base, 1.25–6 × 0.2–4 cm, entire, pilose and sessile-glandular on both surfaces
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence consisting of remote capitula on 1–3.5 cm long pedicels
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Involucre
Involucre 5–7 × 9–12 mm; phyllaries linear, herbaceous, glandular with long spreading hairs
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Female florets 2–4 mm long, disc florets 2–3 mm long, lobes glandular and papillose
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Achenes ellipsoid, 1.25–1.5 mm long, pilose; outer pappus a toothed cup, inner of 6–10 slender setae 2.5– 3.5 mm.
Ecology
In damp places, near streams and wells, marshy fields and sides of ditches, on silty, sandy and clay soils; alt. 3–250(–1450) m;
Phenology
flowering & fruiting: (Apr.-)Jun.-Aug.(-Sep.).
Distribution
Occasional in the mountain region of Iraq, more frequent in the steppe region and also on the irrigated alluvial plain in the desert region. Aegean Is., Cyprus, Palestine, Jordan, Sinai, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, C Asia (Turkmenia), N Africa (Algeria, Morocco), Mauritania.
[FIQ]

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]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/164013/13541669

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit
Perennial herb 5–90 cm high; branches often reddish, scabrid
Morphology Leaves
Leaves lanceolate, 2–9´0.4–1 cm, dentate, obtuse, pubescent to scabrid, glandular, sticky
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Capitula in lax corymbs; involucre 5–6 mm long; phyllaries lanceolate, acute, scabridulous and glandular
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla yellow or cream; ray florets 4–6 mm long, of which ray 2–5 mm; disk florets 4–4.5 mm long, with hairy apex
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Achenes 1.2 mm long, pilose and glandular; outer pappus of half-connate scales 0.2–0.3 mm long, inner pappus of 8–10 bristles 2.5–3 mm long.
Distribution
N2 Morocco to Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Arabia, Yemen.
Ecology
Altitude c. 1000 m.
Vernacular
Farohod (Somali).
[FSOM]

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

  • Flora of Somalia

    • Flora of Somalia
    • 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/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/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