Hertia maroccana (Batt.) Maire
Fre.: Hertia du Maroc. Ara.: Tazzass.
Evergreen shrub, hermaphrodite, up to 1(1.5) m in height, very ramose, upright. Stems robust, tortuous at the base, with greyish bark. Branches cylindrical, glabrous, light green. Leaves (2-7 × 0.2-0.7 cm) linear or linear-lanceolate, usually acute, not attenuated at the base, sessile, sometimes slightly amplexicaul, with dentate margin, with small, sharp teeth, rarely subentire, slightly fleshy, glabrous, light green or greyish-green on both sides. Inflorescence in terminal capitula, on peduncle 1-3 cm. Involucre tubular-campanulate, with 1 row of 5 bracts, similar to sepals of a calyx. Bracts oblong, acute, green, fused at flowering, then slightly separated. Flowers yellow, inner ones tubular florets, outer ones ray florets (with 3 lobes). Fruit in small achenes with pappus arranged solitary inside the calyx of each flower.
Flowering:
February to June.
Fruiting:
1-2 months later. It is not uncommon to see flowers and mature fruits at the same time in the same locality.
Habitat:
Thickets and steppes, on rocky, silty and sandy soils, in areas of semiarid and arid bioclimate, sometimes deserts, from almost sea level to 2,000 m.
Distribution:
Endemic to the S of Morocco. Valleys of the southern watersheds of the High Atlas (gorges of Todgha, Dades, etc.), plains between the High Atlas and the Anti-Atlas, Anti-Atlas, eastern steppic watershed of the Middle Atlas (High and Middle Muluya) and northernmost area of the hamadas of the Drâa and the Guir. It is also likely to be found in the westernmost areas of Algeria.
Conservation status:
Rare but widely distributed species. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.