Flora

Moricandia arvensis (L.) DC.

Common Name: Alkiass, Hemim, Afarfar. Sciass.

Family: Brassicaceae

Flowering Time: Mar-Jun.

General Appearance

Moricandia arvensis (L.) DC., it is a strong and short lived perennial herb, slightly woody at the base, up to 30-65 cm tall, branched, glabrous, glaucous at least the stems; sterns ± whitish. Leaves ± fleshy. Lower leaves obovate, entire to broadly or slightly crenate ± narrowed at the base. Upper leaves ovate to oblong-elliptic ± cordate, entire, usually amplexicaul or semi-amplexieaul at the base and acute. Flowers large showy, c. 1.5 cm across, pink or violet on lax racemes. Sepals c. 1 cml long. Petals c. 2 cm long, long clawed. Stamens 8-10: 10-14 mm; anthers linear, (2-) 3-4 mm long. Siliquae 30-100 x (1.5-) 2-3 mm, linear, glabrous, compressed, sub tetragonal; septum hyaline, not veined; beak 3-9 mm long. Seeds (1-) 2-serate, many small less than a mm long, brown.

Life Form

Phytochoria

MED+SA. The native range of this species is Canary Islands, Medit. to Sahara.

Distribution in Libya

Jabal Nafusa: (37 km) from Kaleba to Mizda 1952 Wadi Malah, (10 km) from Nalut 1972 Kaleba, Abogilan, Nalut, Ejwebia, (25 km) from Nalut to Wazen 1974 Near wadi Malah, (3 km) from Nalut Nalut 1975

Al-Jabal Al-Akhder: S.AL-Marj 2011 Wadi Al-Agerl 2017

Marmarica Plateau: Marmarica (north-eastern part of Libya) 2002 Dafna region (Tobruk to Msaid) 2008

Al-Qibla area: Wadi Nesma region 2009 Wadis South of Mizda 2013

Notes

Wild in Libya, medicinal plant.

This species is accepted: https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1085378-2

Link of images: https://www.actaplantarum.org/flora/flora_info.php?id=5192, https://www.florealpes.com/fiche_moricandiaarvensis.php, https://dryades.units.it/floritaly/index.php?procedure=taxon_page&tipo=all&id=1625, https://www.florandalucia.es/index.php/moricandia-arvensis

For more information

https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1085378-2, https://www.ipni.org/n/1085378-2, https://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000369713, https://www.gbif.org/species/5376035, https://africanplantdatabase.ch/en/nomen/specie/142062/moricandia-arvensis-l-dc, https://atlas-sahara.org/Brassicaceae/Moricandia%20arvensis/Moricandia%20arvensis.html, https://hoseito.com/producto/moricandia-arvensis-l-dc/, https://botany.cz/cs/moricandia-arvensis/, https://www.actaplantarum.org/flora/flora_info.php?id=5192, https://www.florealpes.com/fiche_moricandiaarvensis.php, https://dryades.units.it/floritaly/index.php?procedure=taxon_page&tipo=all&id=1625 , https://www.florandalucia.es/index.php/moricandia-arvensis, https://www.plantasyhongos.es/herbarium/htm/Moricandia_arvensis.htm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moricandia_arvensis

Bibliographic References

First: Encyclopedia Flora of Libyan:

Ali, S.I. & Jafri, S.M.H. (1977) Flora of Libya, Brassicaceae Vol. (23) Department of Botany, Al-Faateh Univ., Tripoli, Libya. Page. 90.

Second: Researches and PhD theses, master theses, Sorted by Newest:

Saaed, M.W.B., EL-Barasi, Y.M. & Rahil, R.O. (2021) An updated checklist and quantitative analysis of the Marmarica Plateau flora, in the north-eastern part of Libya. Phytotaxa 509 (1): 001-055. https://phytotaxa.mapress.com/pt/article/view/phytotaxa.509.1.1

An-updated-checklist-and-quantitative-analysis-of-the-Marmarica-Plateau-flora-مضغوط

Mukassabi, T.A., Thomas, P.A., ELMogasapi, A. (2017) Medicinal plants in Cyrenaica, Libya: existence and extinction. Biological Diversity and Conservation – 10/2 (2017) 183-192. https://eprints.keele.ac.uk/id/eprint/4064/

Medicinal plants in Cyrenaica, Libya 2017

Mohamed, F.J. (2013) A Taxonomic Study of Wadis Flora South of Mizda at the intersections with Mizda-Sebha Highway. Master Thesis. Department of Botany-Faculty of Science-Sebha University. Libya. (In Arabic).

EL-Barasi, Y. M., Barrani, M. W., Abdelsalam, O. EL-Amrouni, N., Mohamad, F. (2011) Check list of flora and vegetation on south EL-Marj zone: south EL-Jabal EL-Akhadar. Libya. Annals of Faculty Engineering Hunedoara-International Journal of Engineering. Tome IX (Year 2011). Fascicule 3. ISSN 1584-2673, 141-146. http://annals.fih.upt.ro/pdf-full/2011/ANNALS-2011-3-24.pdf

FLORA AND VEGETATION ON SOUTH EL-MARJ ZONE SOUTH EL-JABAL EL-AKHADAR.2011

Bahri, N.M. (2009) Study of the vegetation covers of Wadi Nesma region, northwest of Libya. Master Thesis, Department of Botany, College of Science, Sebha University, Libya. (In Arabic).

Barrani, M. W. (2008) A study of environmental degradation factors in the semi-desert Dafna Region-Libya. Master Thesis-Department of Science and environmental Engineering-Postgraduate Academy Benghazi branch. (In Arabic).

El-Shaary M.S. (2002). The Natural Vegetation in Marmarica plateau (North-eastern Libya). First ed. Tobruk (Libya): Published by the local Authority. (In Arabic).