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Golden Samphire |
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| Nomenclature |
Species name: |
Inula crithmoides L. |
Author(s): |
Carl von Linné;
Sweden, 1707-1778
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Common names: |
Golden Samphire |
Maltese name: |
Xorbett, Xorbebb |
Plant Family: |
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Name Derivation: |
Inula = Old name coming from the species Inula helenium and generalised for the whole genus. Old belief says that this I. helenium grew up from the tears which poured down from Helen of Troy. Also Inula in Latin is the name for Helen - being thought to be a corruption of Helenula meaning little Helen. (Latin)
crithmoides = Having characteristics resembling the genus Crithmum, or precisely the plant Crithmum maritimum - the Sea Samphire. (Latin) |
Synonyms: |
Senecio crithmoides |
Remarks: |
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| Morphology |
PLANT STRUCTURE: |
Characteristic | Growth Form | Branching | Surface |
Description | Erect : Upright, vertically straight up well clear off the ground. | Extensively Branched : Large number of compact branches and sub branches forming a shrub or tree. Common main stem is partially, or sometimes, totally covered by the branches. | Glabrous : Smooth; without any hairs, bristles or other projections. |
General
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LEAVES: |
Characteristic | Arrangement | Attachment | Venation |
Description | Alternate : Growing at different positions along the stem axis. | Sessile : Growing directly from the stem; without a stalk. | None : No prominent venation visible. |
General
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Characteristic | Leaf Shape | Leaf Margin | Remarks |
Description | Linear : Long and narrow with parallel margins. | Entire : Smooth margin without indentations, lobes or any projections. | Succulent: A plant having fleshy stems or leaves, often adapted to conserve water in an extremely dry habitat (xeric habitat). |
General
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FLOWERS: |
Characteristic | Colour | Basic Flower Type | No. of Petals | No. of Sepals |
Description | Golden Yellow | Ray petals around disc florets : Flowers made up many petals (ray florets) radiating around numerous, packed, tiny flowers (disc florets) seated on a common receptacle. | 12-18 Referring to the ray florets. | 30-40 Referring to the phyllaries of the involucre. |
General
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Characteristic | Inflorescence | Description | Ovary | Stamens |
Description | Panicle : Elongate inflorescence with compound branching forming clusters of flowers. | Each flower head consists of a 12-16 yellow, strap-like spreading, non-overlapping petals (ray florets) with numerous yellow disc florets at the centre possessing yolk-yellow anthers. The flower is held in a green, cylindrical to semi-spherical involucre. | Inferior : Ovary situated below the flower parts (the calyx, corolla, and androecium). In other words, these are attached above the ovary. | 5, Syngenesious : Anthers fused together, forming a ring or collar around the central style of every disc floret. Filaments are usually free. Stamens are usually not visible by the naked eye. |
General
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Characteristic | Scent | Average Flower Size | Pollen Colour | Other Notes |
Description | YES A sweet/aromatic smell. | 13-18mm | Yellow | - |
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SEEDS: |
Characteristic | No. Per Fruit | Shape | Size | Colour |
Description | 60-80 Seeds closely packed on a common receptacle. | Achene with Pappus : A simple one-seeded fruit which has an apical structure of radiating fine light bristles (called pappus) which aid the seed to disperse away by wind. Fruit are found in collective numbers attached to a common receptacle. | 1-2mm (excluding pappus). | Light Brown (Pappus is beige). |
General
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FRUIT AND OTHER BOTANICAL DATA: |
Characteristic | Fruit Type | Colour of Fruit | Subterranean Parts | Other Notes |
Description | Numerous achenes with pappus : A collection of achenes with a bristly pappus forming a soft spherical structure. The radiating achenes are attached to a common receptacle and when mature they detach and get dispersed by wind. | Beige (Referring to the pappi of the collective fruit head). | Taproot : A rooting system where there is the main descending root of a plant having a single dominant large structure from which a network of smaller and long roots emerge. | Aromatic Most of the plant (especially the leaves) have an aromatic scent. |
General
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| Specifications & Description |
Life Cycle: | Perennial. |
Habitat: | Rocky places near the coast, though it can be found a few km inland too. |
Frequency: | Common |
Localities in Malta: | Very Common near rocky coastal areas around Malta and Gozo. Examples include Valletta, Fawwara, Siggiewi, Mellieha, Ghajn Tuffieha, Qrendi, Bahrija, Sliema and Birzebbugia. |
Plant Height: | 30-100cm. |
| Jul - Oct |
Poison: | Not Poisonous. |
This plant have the shape of a shrub due to its numerous branches that it forms. Old branches can sometimes sub-branch to give several, much smaller branches. Stems are glabrous and can turn woody at their base.
Leaves are numerous, glabrous and turn upwards to take a vertically erect position. They are sessile and arranged alternatively along stem. New leaflets grow in small clusters form the axil of a large, developed leaf. Each leaf is glabrous, linear, fleshy and possess an entire outline. Sometimes they show 3 tiny teeth at their tip. Upper part tends to get slightly broader, but in general they are described to be linearly shaped. Mature leaves measure about 45mm in length and 2-4 mm in breadth.
Flowers are produced in loose clusters along most of the branch, but the first flower is always at the tip of the branch, with new flowers developing progressively downwards along the branch.
Each flower is made up of a green, semi-spherical or rather cylindrical involucre made up of numerous tiny, flap-like phyllaries tiled over each other like feathers of a wing. Each phyllary is completely green, pointed and quite inconspicuous. The corolla usually consists between 12-18 ray florets or 'petals' by the common observer, which are bright yellow, strap-shaped and have 3 teeth at the tip. Larger flowers will have more ray-florets. At the centre of the flower are the disc florets which have yolk-yellow stamens fused around a common style that splits in two stigmas at apex. Flowers are have a semi-sweet/aromatic scent. As in most species of the Asteraceae family, disc-florets develop from the periphery to the centre of the capitulum.
The flower mature in a fruit which initially is maintained in the closed involucre, but when ripe, the involucral flaps spread out open exposing the numerous achenes (seeds) on the receptacle to the winds of September. Achenes are 5mm long and consists of a 1-2mm linear, light-brown, hairy seed and a bristly pappus at the upper end. The simple pappus is lighter brown in colour (beige), un beaked, and unbranched ; however efficient enough to carry the tiny seed to considerable distances by wind.
This is a plant that survives and grows well in the arid hot Summer of Malta, though it prefers moist air; especially found by the sea. It is an aromatic plant, which can be sensed easily when leaves are crushed. It is a halophyte (salt loving) and succulent plant.
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| Information and Details |
Nativity and Distribution
Found in almost all coasts lining the mediterrenean and also in Great Britain. up to Essex - almost at the northernmost range of its
distribution (there are a few plants in Suffolk) [336] .
Inula and its connection with Helen of Troy (Mythology)
Inula is allegedly connected with Helen of Troy who, it is said, held a bunch of Inula helenium when she was abducted by Paris. [WWW-101] . Helen of Troy had a large arm full of these flowers when Paris stole her from her husband Menelaus that started the Trojan War that lasted ten years. When Paris was killed Helen returned to Menelaus and through difficulty they returned to Sparta where they lived happily ever after. [WWW-100] Its Latin name means Helen where "inula" is being thought to be a corruption of Helenula - "little Helen". [WWW-101]
Another derivative of the genus name is said to refer to Helen of Troy, from whose her tears watered and let to grow the plant Inula helenium. [WWW-56]
Reference [WWW-101] gives several other examples from where Inula could be derived. Inula, the Latin classical name for the plant, is considered to be a corruption of the Greek word Helenion which in its Latinised form, Helenium, is also now applied to the same species. There are many fables about the origin of this name. Gerard tells us: 'It took the name Helenium of Helena, wife of Menelaus, who had her hands full of its flowers when Paris stole her away into Phrygia.' Another legend states that it sprang from her tears: another that Helen first used it against venomous bites; a fourth, that it took the name from the island Helena, where the best plants grew. [WWW-03]
Medicinal
The roots are claimed to have medicinal properties as a tonic [337]
Edible Uses
Young leaves are eaten raw or cooked [61, 105, 177] . They are occasionally used as a potherb [183] . The fleshy leaves and young shoots are pickled and used as a relish in salads etc [2, 66, 115, 183] . They are sometimes used as an adulterant of the true sea samphire, Crithmum maritimum [183] . The plant is traditionally consumed in Lebanon [337]
Throughout Europe, the flower buds were pickled and sometimes mixed with Salicornia. In Lebanon, the young succulent leaves are eaten raw in salads, cooked or used as a potherb. With good protein content (13%) (12.7% according to reference [337]), it has good potential as a quality animal feed supplement. When used as fodder, many of these succulents must be processed or leached in order to compensate for high levels of salt in their tissue. [WWW-102] . This plant is a high-Iodine vegetable where Iodine levels ranged between 0.8 and 1.4 mg/kg on Dry Weight basis. [337]
Cultivation and Propagation details
Succeeds in an ordinary garden soil in a sunny position [1] . One report says that the plant dislikes shade whilst another says that it succeeds in a shady border [37] . The plant needs to be watered frequently and given some salt occasionally [37] .
Propagation from seed is done by sowing in spring or autumn in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and plant them out in the summer. If sufficient seed is available, it is worthwhile trying a sowing in situ in the spring or the autumn. [KF]
Salinity
Inula crithmoides is an iodine-rich herb commonly found in the salt marshes and coastal regions of Europe. When evaluated for use in biosaline agriculture, its germination and growth were relatively unrestricted in salinity regimes under 20 dS/m, with some populations withstanding up to 56 dS/m. [WWW-102]
Suitibility of Inula crithmoides saline agriculture.
Inula crithmoides, a common halophyte from the coast of Lebanon, was evaluated for use in saline agriculture. Inula crithmoides offshoots were collected from the wild and propagated in a controlled environment. Germination and rooting tests under various salinity regimes ranging from 0.5 to 80 dS m-1 (NaCl) demonstrated a severe restriction of germination above 20 dS m-1 and indicated that vegetative propagation is probably the main reproduction strategy in saline environments. The growth of potted plants grown under 5 levels of salinity for a period of 87 days was only affected by salinity exceeding 20 dS m-1. Yield of plants irrigated with 40 dS m-1 saline water was nearly half that of the no-salt control. Mean yield value for plants grown at 20 dS m-1 reached 18.3 g dry weight (DW) per plant. At this salinity, crude protein content averaged 12.7% mg kg-1, and shoot iodine contents ranged between 0.8 and 1.4 mg kg-1 DW, making I. crithmoides a good-quality fodder, and an iodine-rich vegetable. This species also exhibited ionic relations typical of halophytes, with shoot K/Na ranging between 0.1 and 0.4, indicating that it can substitute Na for K. It is concluded that Inula crithmoides can be a good candidate for use in saline agriculture, provided a selection process is initiated to identify high yielding varieties. [337]
The Suitability of Inula crithmoides L. as a Coastal Zone Indicator in the Island of Gozo
Inula crithmoides L. is a halophilic angiosperm that has been used to assess the extent of the coastal zone of the islands. The distribution of I. crithmoides was investigated using Point-Quarter Vegetation Sampling, and the resultant data was analysed using multivariate statistical techniques.
Results indicate that abundance and density of I. crithmoides are significantly greater close to the coast than in inland areas. The relative importance of I. crithmoides in the context of the communities in which it occurs also decreases with distance from the coast. Conclusions drawn from these results justified the suitability of the use of I. crithmoides as a coastal zone indicator for a number of reasons, namely: its concentration around the coast, its abundance, and for the fact that it is easily identifiable. [335]
Personal Observations
Variation of the plant
I have observed, by comparing several photos found on the internet, that the plant can have 2 main morphological variations, that is, in the leaf tips and the flower size. The tips of I. crithmoides leaves can be either smooth (having an entire outline) or have 3 tiny teeth. In Malta the former is more dominant, though I have encountered plants with tip-toothed leaves.
I have also noted that the flower size and form can vary. In Malta the flowers tend to be rather small but plants have plentiful inflorescences. Even primary flowers are generally quite small (about 18 petals). Photos of flowers from plants taken in other parts of Europe (Italy Spain and UK) shows larger flowers with more than 30 petals and more disk florets. Click on the following example to see images.
(example 1 }
(example 2 }
( example 3 }
( example 4 )
This is not a conclusion that applies to all I. crithmoides plants in Malta but an observation which can further investigated. [SM]
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| Photo Gallery |
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IMAGE: INUCR-01
Photo of a flower consisting of 12-18 bright yellow, peripheral ray florets ('petals') and numerous yellow-orange disk florets at the centre. |
IMAGE: INUCR-02
Photo of flower at an angle to show some detail of the tiny disk-florets. |
IMAGE: INUCR-03
Photo of flower and flat finger-like, erect leaves. |
IMAGE: INUCR-04
Photo of strap-shaped corolla (often referred to as ligule) since its 'petals' look like bands or straps. Each petal have a 3-toothed tip. |
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IMAGE: INUCR-05
Photo of mature corolla in situ. Often flowers show un-organized petals with some being smaller, or not evenly spaced, or crossing upon each other. |
IMAGE: INUCR-06
Photo of a lateral view of the flower. |
IMAGE: INUCR-07
Close up photo of flower showing details of the disk florets. Each floret is a tube with a star-shaped opening from which a single style protrudes out. The tip of the style splits in 2 stigmas while around its column there are the 5, fused, orange-yolk coloured stamens. |
IMAGE: INUCR-08
Photo of a flowering branch showing the numerous leaves and arrangement of flowers. |
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IMAGE: INUCR-09
Another photo showing a flowering branch with plenty of golden flowers in small loose clusters along the length of the branch (upper-central part). |
IMAGE: INUCR-10
Photos of flowers along one of the many branches that a plant forms. Taken at the end of August, 2005. |
IMAGE: INUCR-11
Some insects frequently found of this plant. |
IMAGE: INUCR-12
Photo of a mature/old flower and a small spider sitting on one of the petals. |
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IMAGE: INUCR-13
Scanned image of a flower (side view). The flower consists of a cylindrical to semi-spherical involucre (about 6mm long) made of several tiny, flap-like structures called phyllaries. Phyllaries are entirely green and have a pointed end. |
IMAGE: INUCR-14
Scanned image of 4 flowers. Generally they have disorganized petals in terms of size and spacing. Number of petals (ray florets) vary between 12 to 16 per corolla. |
IMAGE: INUCR-15
Magnified scanned image of a typical flower. One can count the number of ray florets (15) and disc florets (about 43 : 15 open, 28 buds). Both ray and disk florets are capable to produce a seed. |
IMAGE: INUCR-16
Scanned and annotated image of a dissected flower. Note that ray florets do not have stamens around their style. |
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IMAGE: INUCR-17
Photo a some branches showing their numerous erect, leaves. |
IMAGE: INUCR-18
Close up photo of leaves. They are linear, glabrous and have an entire outline, although sometimes they have 3 small teeth at their tip. |
IMAGE: INUCR-19
Photo of a branch which runs more or less horizontally and its leaves that turn up to a vertically erect position. |
IMAGE: INUCR-20
Photo of a leaves appearing to be glowing light green with sunlight coming from opposite direction. One can also see several buds along the branch. |
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IMAGE: INUCR-21
Scanned image of a part of branch showing the arrangement and new growth of leaves. They are sessile, arranged alternatively along the stem with new leaves growing from the axils of mature leaves (indicated by arrow). |
IMAGE: INUCR-22
Scanned image of some leaves. Glabrous, fleshy and have a linear shape and with a tendency of having a slightly broadened upper part. Some leaves have 3 small teeth at their tip. |
IMAGE: INUCR-23
Scanned image of a whole branch. Leaves growing at the underside shrivel and die. One can also note small sub-branches with flowers growing up from the the branch. |
IMAGE: INUCR-24
Scanned image of a flowering part of a branch. Apical flower opens first with lower buds following. |
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IMAGE: INUCR-25
Photo of a flowering plant taken at Fawwara. (Aug 05). |
IMAGE: INUCR-26
Photo of plant at Dingli cliffs (Aug 05). |
IMAGE: INUCR-27
Photo of a large plant and it numerous branches, forming a shrub. Plant was about 80cm long and can grow up to 100cm. |
IMAGE: INUCR-28
Photo of several golden-yellow flowers and brown-topped developing fruit. A mature fruit can be seen at the tip of the branch. |
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IMAGE: INUCR-29
Photo of 2 flowers and a fruit in between. |
IMAGE: INUCR-30
Photo of fruit. On the left is a developing fruit, while next to it is a fully developed fruit (involucre spread out) with a number of achenes ready to be blown by wind and dispersed away. |
IMAGE: INUCR-31
Close up image of fruit showing detail of the receptacle (on the left) and of the achenes (right) which consist of a light-brown seed with a bristly pappus having a beige colour. |
IMAGE: INUCR-32
Close up photo of fruit with some achenes waiting their turn to be dispersed by wind. Note that the phyllaries, which previously were forming the green cylindrical involucre, will spread out flat when fruit is fully mature. |
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IMAGE: INUCR-33
Scanned image of fruit. |
IMAGE: INUCR-34
Scanned image of fruit and some of its achenes which are about 5mm long (2mm seed, 3mm pappus). |
IMAGE: INUCR-35
Magnified scanned image of achenes consisting of a small light brown linear hairy seed and a beakless, bristly, unbranched pappus of a lighter brown colour. |
IMAGE: INUCR-36
Magnified image of achene under the light microscope showing clearly hairs on the seed. |
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IMAGE: INUCR-37
Black and white illustration from: Illustrations of the Britisch Flora (1924), published on a website by Kurt Stueber. |
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