Pluchea dioscoridis (L.) DC.
Eng.: Ploughmans spikenard, marsh fleabane. Ara.: Barnuf, kûsh.
Shrub, puberulent-glandular, hermaphrodite, up to 3 m in height, slightly branched, with branches ± puberulent or pubescent towards the upper part, sometimes glabrous. Leaves 2-5 × 0.5-2 cm, oblong, elliptic or linear-lanceolate, acute, gradually narrowed towards the base, sessile or shortly petiolate, not decurrent, dentate or serrated. Inflorescence corymbiform, with numerous campanulate capitula (3.5-5 mm in diameter), with flat and glabrous receptacle. Involucre with several rows of imbricate bracts; external bracts ovate, acute or obtuse and apiculate, puberulent or pubescent, persistent; internal bracts linear or linear-lanceolate, acute or acuminate, subglabrous, caducous. Flowers pink or purple; peripheral flowers filiform and female; central flowers in disc florets and hermaphrodite. Achenes oblongish, hairy, with 4-7 ribs and pappus formed by 1 row of scabrid setae, 2-3 times longer than the achene.
Flowering:
February to September.
Fruiting:
March to October.
Habitat:
Humid areas. Banks of rivers and streams, deep valleys and other depressions, oases.
Distribution:
Tropical and subtropical Africa, especially in the eastern region; and SE Mediterranean, from Egypt and Syria and Arabia. In North Africa it is found mainly in the eastern regions of Egypt, Sudan and Eritrea, from the Mediterranean coastal areas, oases on both sides of the Nile, the Nile Valley and desert areas; also in the Sinai Peninsula.
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.