Forsskaolea tenacissima

Forsskaolea tenacissima is a member of the non-stinging nettles genus Forsskaolea and is in the same family as the stinging kind, Urticaceae. Described as "looking like a tough character that does not want or need a caress",[5] F. tenacissima makes its home where not many plant species survive, in stony soils, road edges, in the gravel wadi[5] and "in the rock crevices and water-receiving depressions" above the stone pavements of the Hamadas.[6]

Forsskaolea tenacissima
Forsskaolea tenacissima L. in Níjar, province of Almería (Spain)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Urticaceae
Genus: Forsskaolea
Species:
F. tenacissima
Binomial name
Forsskaolea tenacissima
Synonyms

Forskohlea tenacissima[2]
Caidbeja adhaerens Forssk.
Forsskaolea cossoniana Webb.[3]
Forsskalea tenacissima L.[4]

Forsskaolea tenacissima was named in mourning of a student of Carl Linnaeus, a Swede named Peter Forsskål, who died while gathering botanical and zoological specimens from the Arabia Felix. Linnaeus named this plant Forsskaolea tenacissima because the plant was as stubborn and persistent as the student had been.[7]

Description

The almost upright 65 centimetres (26 in) fleshy, stiff-haired, woody annual[3] F. tenacissima appears after the rains in rocky and difficult to grow in places like the Sahel of Mauritania, and Northeast Africa (the Horn of Africa), and now recorded in Niger. It is a chamaephyte that is much relished by livestock.[8]

Leaves and stems
5 millimetres (0.20 in) to 20 millimetres (0.79 in) leaf stalks. Broad-side of leaves are squared-oval to round 1 centimetre (0.39 in) to 5 centimetres (2.0 in) long and 1 centimetre (0.39 in) to 7 centimetres (2.8 in) wide. Upper leaf surfaces have straight and hooked hairs and the lower leaf is densely white-wooly with hair. Small leafy outgrowth at the base of the leaf are rounded, 3 millimetres (0.12 in) to 5 millimetres (0.20 in) long, 1.5 millimetres (0.059 in) to 2.5 millimetres (0.098 in) wide, persistent and dry—not green.
Flowers
Five involucral bracts narrow and tapering to a point, 5 millimetres (0.20 in) to 6 millimetres (0.24 in) long and densely wooly. Four to eight male flowers and two to six female flowers in the center of the flower head which is attached right to the stem. Three unequal sepals; 3 millimetres (0.12 in) long stamen with a pointy anther and a conical 2 millimetres (0.079 in) long ovary which is surrounded with dense wool. The stigma is as long as the ovary.
Seeds
Achenes are elliptical, reddish-brown and 2 millimetres (0.079 in) long.[3]
Communities
In Spain, F. tenacissima has been observed in a phytosociological situation (made "on the rocks" or in the gravel wadis of Tabernas Desert) with Senecio flavus.[9]

F. tenacissima has been observed living low in wadis with these plant species:

It has also been found growing in rock crevices and water-receiving depressions above the stone pavements of the Hamadas along with:

Distribution

Common in arid and semi-arid waste lands in sandy clay gravelly soils from sea level to 1,200 metres (3,900 ft)[3] like Mediterranean woodlands and shrublands, semi-steppe shrublands, shrub-steppes, deserts and extreme deserts.[11]

Native
Palearctic:
Northern Africa: Algeria, Egypt
Southwestern Europe: Spain
Southeastern Europe: Malta
Western Asia: Israel, Jordan, Libya, Palestine, Sinai, Tunisia[4]
Current
Palearctic:
Northern Africa: Algeria, Egypt
Southwestern Europe: Spain
Southeastern Europe: Malta
Western Asia: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Libya, Pakistan, Palestine, Sinai, Tunisia
Asia Temperate: India
Afrotropic:
Arabian Peninsula: Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates
Northeast Tropical Africa: Eritrea
West Tropical Africa: Mauritania[3][8][12]

Uses

The inner bark is used by natives in Sahara for manufacturing rope.[13]

Synonyms
  • Forsskaolea tenacissima L. var. cossoniana (Webb) Batt.
  • Forsskaolea tenacissima L. var. erythraea A.Terracc.
  • Forsskaolea tenacissima L. var. cossoniana (Webb) Batt.[1]

References
  1. "Forsskaolea L". African Plants Database. South African National Biodiversity Institute, the Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève and Tela Botanica. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
  2. UniProt. "Species Forsskaolea tenacissima". Retrieved 2008-04-24.
  3. Flora of Pakistan. "Forsskaolea Linn". Retrieved 2008-04-24.
  4. Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem. "Details for: Forsskalea". Euro+Med PlantBase. Freie Universität Berlin. Archived from the original on 2012-02-25. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
  5. "endemismos". Flora endémica, rara o amenazada de Almería (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2008-04-10. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
  6. Wickens, Gerald E.; J. L. Cloudsley-Thompson (1998). "Arid and Semi-Arid Regions and Ecosystems of the World". Ecophysiology of Economic Plants in Arid and Semi-arid Lands. Springer Science+Business Media. pp. 343 pages. ISBN 3-540-52171-2.
  7. "The journey to "The happy Arabia": Peter Forsskål (1732-1763)". Linné on line. UPPSALA UNIVERSITET. 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
  8. Aluka. "Entry for Forsskaolea tenacissima Linn. [family URTICACEAE]". African Plants. Ithaka Harbors, Inc. Archived from the original on 2013-08-01. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
  9. Cabello, Javier; Domingo Alcaraz; Francisco Gómez-Mercado; Juan F. Mota; Javier Navarro; Julio Peñas; Esther Giménez (April 2003). "Habitat, occurrence and conservation of Saharo-Arabian-Turanian element Forsskaolea tenacissima L. in the Iberian Peninsula". Journal of Arid Environments. 53 (4): 491–500. Bibcode:2003JArEn..53..491C. doi:10.1006/jare.2002.1062.
  10. Guenther, Rebecca (2005). "Report on plant surveys done during Operation Wallacea expeditions during 2005" (PDF). Vegetation and Grazing in the St. Katherine Protectorate, South Sinai, Egypt. OPERATION WALLACEA. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 27, 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-26. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  11. Flora of Israel Online. "Forsskaolea tenacissima L". Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Archived from the original on 2013-10-20. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
  12. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (2008-04-11). "Results from the RBGE herbarium catalogue Hits 1 to 8 of 8 matching Forsskaolea tenacissima". Retrieved 2008-04-24.
  13. Dictionary of Economic Plants by J.C. TH. Uphof, Verlag von J. Cramer, 3301 Lehre, 1968.
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