Anthyllis polycephala Desf.
A. podocephala Boiss.
Eng.: Albaida, vetch. Spa.: Albaida. Fre.: Anthyllide.
Subshrub up to 60(80) cm in height, base multistemmed and stems herbaceous except at the base, erect, slightly branched, villous. Leaves alternate, with (13)15-19 subequal leaflets, 8-16 × 3-5 mm, from elliptic to oblong, hirsute, greenish, generally mucronate. Inflorescences in glomeruli, globose, c. 2 cm in diameter, with 15-20 flowers, pedunculate —peduncles of the lower glomeruli 3-6 cm—, bracteate, grouped in 4-6 into lax racemes, with a long lower internode (3-7 cm) and a palmatisect bract of the same length or longer than the flowers, that covers them. Calyx 7-8 mm, campanulate, with subequal setaceous or feathery teeth and mouth of tube truncated, villous. Corolla 5-6 mm, yellow, sometimes with purplish striations on the standard. Androecium submonadelphous. Ovary cylindrical, with 2-4 rudimentary seminal primordia, style geniculate. Pod c. 5 × 2 mm, ellipsoid, reticulated, barely exserted from the calyx, with 2-4 seeds. Seeds c. 1 mm, reniform, smooth.
Flowering:
April to July.
Fruiting:
July to August.
Habitat:
Rocky areas. Walls and steep ledges of mountains, especially in limestone.
Distribution:
Iberian-Maghrebi endemic. S of Spain (from Cádiz to Almería), N of Morocco [Rif, (Targuist, Zerhoun, Tazekka, Aknul, Imensuren, Gareb), Beni-Snassen and Middle Atlas mountains, where it is frequent] and NE of Algeria (Tlemcen).
Observations:
A plant with great variability in relation to its size and sturdiness, as well as the number and shape of the leaflets, both in Spain and especially in Morocco. In the Middle Atlas, the greatest variation is in the size of the flowers and the floral glomeruli, as well as the stem indumentum.A closely related species, present in North Africa, is A. tejedensis Boiss., with 2 subspecies described. Subsp. plumosa (Cullen ex E.Domínguez) Benedí is a subshrub endemic to the mountains of Tejeda and Almijara, between the Spanish provinces of Malaga and Granada. Subsp. tejedensis [A. polycephala var. tejedensis (Boiss.) Maire], only slightly woody at the base of the stems, procumbent and not exceeding 20 cm in height, is the only one present in Morocco and Algeria. It is known from the Rif, Tangier, and the mountains of Beni-Snassen.
Conservation status:
Rare species and with a small distribution area. Currently, they have not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.