Flora

Calicotome spinosa (L.) Link / Syn. Calicotome spinosa ssp. spinosa, it is a very spiny, densely branched shrub which can reach up to 3 meters in height. The stems are much-branched from the base of the plant and greenish in colour. They are finely ridged lengthwise (i.e. striate) and are armed with many, sharp, rigid spines (up to 75 mm long). These spines may occasionally be branched. The compound (i.e. trifoliate) leaves each have three small leaflets (mostly 5-10 mm long and 2-5 mm wide) that are dark green or greyish-green in colour. These leaflets are either oval (i.e. elliptic) or oblong in shape and the middle leaflet of each leaf is slightly larger than the others (i.e. about 6-12 mm long). The leaves are alternately arranged along the stems or clustered together on small side branches (or occasionally even found on the spines). They are borne on short stalks (i.e. petioles) and are sparsely hairy to moderately hairy (particularly on their undersides). The numerous flowers are bright yellow and pea-shaped (12-25 mm long). They are borne singly or in small clusters on short stalks (i.e. pedicels) in the leaf forks (i.e. axils) near the ends of the branches. Flowering occurs mostly during late spring and early summer. The fruit is a smooth, flattened pod (25-40 mm long) that ends in a short spine and has two distinctive ridges along one edge. These pods are either grey, black, or dark reddish-brown in colour and are hairless (i.e. glabrous). They are oblong to elongated (i.e. linear) in shape and contain 3-15 seeds. The smooth, rounded, seeds are brown or reddish-brown in colour (about 3 mm across) and have a shiny appearance. 

Flowering in: Mar-May.

Al-Jabal Al-Akhder:  Between Tocra and Tolmeta 1933  Baida, El-Hania e Messaa 1934  Wadi Al-Agar 1999  Al-Dercya, Wadi El-Akar, Shahat, El Fadil Abou Omar, Wadi Algharega, Qandulah, Al-Marj-Al-Baida motorway, Wadi El-Kouf 2011  Wadi El-Kouf 2014  Wadi Om-El-Amaym 2019  Wadi Al-Kouf 2021  Wadi Om-El-Amaym 2024

Wild in Libya, medicinal plant.

This species is accepted: https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:127578-3

Link of images: https://www.apatita.com/herbario/especie.php?id=Calicotome_spinosa,   https://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/media/Html/calicotome_spinosa.htm,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calicotome_spinosa

https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:127578-3,   https://www.ipni.org/n/127578-3,    https://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000213263,   https://www.gbif.org/species/2956359,   https://africanplantdatabase.ch/en/nomen/specie/146081/calicotome-spinosa-l-link,  https://hoseito.com/producto/calicotome-spinosa-l-link/,  https://www.apatita.com/herbario/especie.php?id=Calicotome_spinosa,  https://www.preservons-la-nature.fr/flore/taxon/2177.html,   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calicotome_spinosa