Launaea Cass.
Genus composed of about 60 species from the Old World, of which 16 are found in North Africa, distributed throughout the area. They are mostly annual or perennial herbaceous plants. Only L. arborescens can be considered shrubby with a height exceeding 1 m. There are two other woody species (at least at the base), thorny and intricately branched, typical of arid or desert areas of the region. They are subshrubs that usually do not exceed 50 cm in height.
Launaea lanifera Pau (L. acanthoclada Maire) is a subshrub up to 45(50) cm in height, which is very similar to L. arborescens, but has a basal rosette of well developed leaves, with bracteiform cauline leaves, both with lanuginous axils. Endemic to the Iberian-Maghrebi area, it is found in sunny thickets in arid areas through almost all Morocco and in the N of Algeria and Tunisia.
Launaea spinosa (Forssk.) Kuntze [Ara. (Egypt): Kabath] is a subshrub 30-50 cm in height, with scarce, linear cauline leaves, with some triangular lobes, glaucous and glabrous; capitula small and sessile, with 6-10 yellow ligulate flowers. Found on desert stony areas of the Near East; in North Africa it is found in the E of Egypt, including the Sinai Peninsula.
Key to species
1 Subshrub, lanuginous at the base and axils of leaves. Cauline leaves bracteiform Launaea lanifera
1 Shrubs or subshrubs, glabrous. Cauline leaves well developed, linear or linear-oblong 2
2 Shrub 40-150 cm. Capitula with involucre 9-15 mm long, narrowly ovoid, with 10-15(20) flowers Launaea arborescens
2 Subshrub 30-50 cm in height. Capitula with involucre c. 8 mm long, cylindrical, with 6-10 flowers Launaea spinosa
Updated by: B. Valdés.