Crassulaceae
Umbilicus

Umbilicus horizontalis (Guss.) DC.

First published in Prodr. 3: 400 (1828)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Azores, Medit. to W. Iran and Eritrea. It is a succulent tuberous geophyte and grows primarily in the temperate biome.

Descriptions

Ghazanfar, S. A. & Edmondson, J. R (Eds). (2014) Flora of Iraq, Volume 5 Part 2: Lythraceae to Campanulaceae.

Morphology General Habit
Glabrous, erect perennial up to 57 cm tall; roots tuberous, ± woody
Morphology Stem
Stems succulent, terete
Morphology Leaves
Leaves orbicular and peltate at base, (1–)3–5(–9) cm across, undulate to crenate, with petioles of (3–)6–10 cm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence racemose, (8–)13–43(–57) × (1–)3–5(– 9) cm; bracts (2–)10–25(–65) × 2–6 mm, undulate to crenate, becoming reduced and graduating up the stem from peltate, orbicular to cuneate, suborbicular to spatulate to narrowly lanceolate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pedicel
Pedicels 1–2 mm
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers ± pendulous or horizontally spreading
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Sepals triangular, ± 1 mm
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla greenish-white, urceolate or cylindrical; tube 4–6 × 2–4 mm; lobes ovate or lanceolate, 1–2 × 1 mm, emarginate
Morphology Reproductive morphology Seeds
Follicle obtuse, ± 4 × 1 mm Seeds numerous, minute, ellipsoid, papillate.
Ecology
Crevices in limestone rocks; alt. 800–1500 m
Phenology
Apr.–May.
Distribution
Widespread, mainly in northern Iraq. Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Arabia, Iran.
Note
Var. horizontalis with horizontally spreading flowers, cylindrical corolla tubes and lanceolate corolla lobes, is found in S Europe, Egypt, W Syria, and W Iran; not found in Iraq.
[FIQ]

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

Distribution
Mediterranean Region, SW Asia.
Morphology Roots
Rootstock subglobose, covered by fibrous roots
Morphology Leaves
Basal leaves peltate; petiole up to 10 cm long; blade up to 5 cm in diam., with crenate margin
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Raceme erect, up to at least 30 cm high, usually unbranched; flowers horizontal; pedicels up to 2.5 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx-lobes lanceolate, c. 1.5 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla greenish-white, tubular, c. 6–7 mm long, with lanceolate acuminate lobes c. 1.5 mm long.
[FSOM]

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]

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/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. 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 2026. 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