Launaea arborescens
Launaea arborescens (Batt.) Murb.
Launaea arborescens is a spiny, hemispherical shrub in the Asteraceae family, found in regions across North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, and nearby islands. It has a strong taproot and lateral roots, with glaucous, lignified branches and a distinctive latex with an unpleasant odor. The plant is almost leafless, with succulent, glaucous-green leaves that are either entire or pinnatifid and deciduous. It produces terminal capitula on spiny peduncles, with involucral bracts that expand during fruit dispersal.
Description
This shrub grows to 50-150 cm in height, with intricately and divaricately branched stems that bear subulate spines at the tips. The leaves are narrowly spathulate to linear, with some being pinnatifid, and are clustered at the base of new growth. The plant's synflorescences are spiny and branched at wide angles. Each capitulum contains 7-19 flowers and is borne on a subulate peduncle that becomes a spine after the capitulum drops. The involucre is cylindrical to conical, with outer bracts that are imbricate and have a narrowly scarious margin. The receptacle is 1.5-2.5 mm in diameter at fruiting.
Distribution
Madeira · Algeria · Morocco · Mauritania · Western Sahara · Spain · Canary Is. · Cape Verde · Madeira Island · Baleares · Saudi Arabia
Synonyms
Launaea melanostigmaZollikoferia arborescensSonchus freynianusPrenanthes spinosaZollikoferia arborescens var. arborescensSonchus freynianusZollikoferia arborescens var. cerastinaLaunaea freyniana
