Tordylium maximum

Tordylium maximum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Apiales
Family:	Apiaceae
Genus:	Tordylium
Species:	T. maximum
Binomial name
Tordylium maximum L. [1]
Synonyms [1]
Caucalis maxima(L.) Vest Heracleum tordyliumSpreng. Pastinaca maxima(L.) Koso-Pol. Selinum tordyliastrumE.H.L.Krause, nom. illeg.

Tordylium maximum, known as hartwort, is an annual or biennial flowering plant in the carrot family (Apiaceae). ^[2]

Description

Tordylium maximum is a hairy or bristly biennial or annual, growing to about 30–130 cm (1.0–4.3 ft) tall, with a hollow ridged stem that is usually branched. The lower leaves are pinnate, with two to five pairs of coarsely toothed leaflets. The upper leaves may be reduced to a single leaflet. The flowers are arranged in flat umbels, with 5–15 rays. Like other members of the genus Tordylium , the flowers are white, with the outer flowers having some much longer petals on the outer side of the umbel. The fruits are 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) long. ^{[3] [2]}

Taxonomy

Tordylium maximum was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 in Species Plantarum . ^{[4] [5]}

Distribution

Tordylium maximum is a species of south and south central Europe, probably not native in the northern parts of its range. ^[3] It has been found in south-east England, but only in one location in south Essex since 1875. ^[2]

References

1. "Tordylium maximum", The Plant List, retrieved 2015-02-27
2. Stace, Clive (2010), New Flora of the British Isles (3rd ed.), Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, ISBN   978-0-521-70772-5 , p. 828
3. Tutin, T.G. (1968), "Tordylium", in Tutin, T.G.; Heywood, V.H.; Burges, N.A.; Valentine, D.H.; Walters, S.M. & Webb, D.A. (eds.), Flora Europaea, Volume 2: Rosaceae to Umbelliferae, Cambridge University Press, p. 367, ISBN   978-0-521-06662-4
4. "IPNI Plant Name Query Results for Tordylium maximum", The International Plant Names Index , retrieved 2015-02-28
5. Carl Linnaeus (1753), "Tordylium", Species Plantarum, vol. 1, pp. 239–240