Limoniastrum monopetalum (L.) Boiss.
Bubania monopetala (L.) Girard, Statice monopetala L.
Spa.: Salado. Fre.: Grand statice, faux-limonium. Ara.: Zeïta, zita.
Evergreen shrub, hermaphrodite, 0.2-2 m in height, very ramose, irregular in shape, whitish. Stems erect. Branches ± erect. Bark greyish-brown. Young branchlets green or red, but always covered, in greater or lesser extent, in white granules (carbonate deposits), which gives them a whitish-ashen appearance. Leaves (2-9 × 0.2-1.5 cm), obovate-lanceolate to obovate-spatulate, tapered towards the base and then widened forming a sheath around the stem, somewhat fleshy, with margin entire, covered in calcareous deposits, alternate and obtuse apex. Flowers in racemose spiciform inflorescences, leafless. Calyx tubular, not angular, about 9 mm. with 5 sharp short teeth, reddish. Corolla (10-20 mm in diameter), very showy, bright pink or purple, with petals fused in the lower half, forming a single piece; lobules free, wide, obovate, opened. Stamens 5 in the centre of the flower with fused at the filaments to the corolla; yellow anthers. Fruit minute, long and oval, membranous, inside the persistent calyx.
Flowering:
May to October.
Fruiting:
July to December.
Habitat:
In all kinds of rocky, sandy or silty soils —humid and rich in salts—. It usually grows around inland salt water lagoons and close to the sea.
Distribution:
Mediterranean region. In North Africa it is common in coastal and flooded brackish coastal and subcoastal areas, from Morocco to Egypt. Along the Atlantic, its southern limit of distribution is around Rabat.
Observations:
A rare species with a restricted Distribution.
Conservation status:
Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.