Hertia Less.
Genus composed of 9 species of African distribution. In North Africa there are 2 species, with Mediterranean-Saharan distribution: H. maroccana, a shrub endemic to Morocco, and H. cheirifolia, a perennial herb up to 1 m tall, with a hardened but non-woody basal area. Very dense stems and foliage. Leaves alternate, a little fleshy, oblong, mucronate, the lower ones cuneate, the upper ones sessile, with margins scabrous entire. Capitula about 4 cm in diameter, flowers yellow. It is an endemism of the steppe parts of NE Algeria and central Tunisia, from almost sea level (in Tunisia) to about 1400 m (Saharan Atlas, Algeria).
Iamonico, D. & El Mokni, R. 2021. Hertia cheirifolia and H. maroccana (Asteraceae), two species endemic to North Africa: nomenclatural notes, morphology, distribution, and IUCN Red List assessments. Collectanea Botanica 40: 009. https://doi.org//10.3989/collectbot.2021.v40.009
Updated by: B. Valdés & J. Charco.