Family |
Plantaginaceae
Kickxia spuria
(L.) Dumort.
Kickxia spuria (L.) Dumort.
First published in Fl. Belg.: 35 (1827).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3, p. 226, Pl. CXX, 4; 1983)
Description
Synonyms: Antirrhinum spurium L.; Linaria spuria (L.) Mill.
Life-form & habit: Somewhat hairy annual, branching from the base into prostrate shoots of variable length, generally without further branching.
Leaves: Alternate, shortly stalked, rounded-oval and blunt, with entire or slightly wavy-toothed margins; bases without spear-like lateral lobes. Lower leaves reach 2 cm long; floral leaves smaller and tipped with a short point.
Inflorescence & flowers: Flowers on spreading, thread-like axillary stalks of variable length. Calyx lobes broad and slightly heart-shaped at the base, pointed at the tip. Corolla yellow with a violet upper lip; spur curved in a semicircle, as long as the corolla limb.
Fruit: Hairless capsule; seeds marked by curved pits.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: June–December.
Habitat & elevation: Especially sandy ground.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Near Saida, Jounie, Jamhour, Deir el Qamar, Hackel, Broummana, Douma, above Bikfaya, Sannine, Dimane, Ehmej, Harajel, Beqaa, Terbol, Taanail and Chebaa.
Syrian distribution: Tartous, Jeble, Nebi Younes Pass, Slenfe, Cassius and north of Bloudane.
Recorded locations: Bekish.
Native range: Albania, Algeria, Austria, Azores, Baleares, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canary Is., Corse, Cyprus, Czechia-Slovakia, East Aegean Is., Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kriti, Krym, Lebanon-Syria, Madeira, Morocco, Netherlands, NW. Balkan Pen., Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Selvagens, Sicilia, Sinai, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Türkiye and Türkiye-in-Europe.
Introduced into: Alabama, British Columbia, California, Cape Provinces, Denmark, Florida, Great Britain, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode I., Tasmania, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
⚠️ Taxonomic note:
Mouterde notes that separating K. spuria, K. sieberi and K. lanigera can be difficult, and that flower-stalk length varies even within a population. Stalk length alone should therefore not be used to confirm an identification.