Image de Molène de Phénicie

Description :

Slo.: vijolini lunik - Habitat: small, grassy openings in the wood and among bushes; flat, calcareous terrain; half shade, dry place; exposed to direct rain; elevation 70 m (230 feet), average precipitations 1.000-1.200 mm/year, average temperature 13-15 deg C, Mediterranean phytogeographical region. - Substratum: soil. - Comments: Plants in the genus Verbascum are mostly large and conspicuous. Some species can reach almost 2 m height having hundreds of bright yellow flowers. A group of such plants is a magnificent view. All of 13 species of this genus growing in Slovenia and all 16 of them growing in the whole Alps bloom yellow with a single exception - Verbascum phoeniceum. It is violet and not very tall (up to 1 m, usually much smaller). Its typical characteristic is its flowers when still in buds. They resemble to small, deep violet, perfectly five angled cushions. The determination of the plant is hence simple. Verbascum phoeniceum is a warmth lover. In Slovenia it is almost rare, particularly in its alpine phytogeographical region. It enters the whole Alps arc only on a few, most southern places. North of us, in Austria, it is a very rare and protected plant. The plants photographed were growing scattered, solitary and in small groups of few on both sides of the local dirt road. - Ref.: (1) A. Martini et all., Mala Flora Slovenije, Tehnina Zaloba Slovenije (2007) (in Slovene), p 549. (2) D. Aeschimann, K. Lauber, D.M. Moser, J.P. Theurillat, Flora Alpina, Vol. 2., Haupt (2004), p 188. (3) R. Domac, Flora Hrvatske: Prirunik za odreivanje bilja (Flora of Croatia: Plant determination manual), kolska Knjiga, Zgreb, II. izdanje (2002), p 270. (4) M. Blamey, C. Grey-Wilson, Wild Flowers of the Mediterranean, A & C Black, London (2005), p 408. (5) M.A. Fischer, W. Adler, K. Oswald, Exkursionsflora sterreich Liechtenstein, Sdtirol, LO Landesmuseen, Linz, Austria (2005).