Fagonia cretica
| Fagonia cretica | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Bright sunlight: Flower, stems, and leaves | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Zygophyllales |
| Family: | Zygophyllaceae |
| Genus: | Fagonia |
| Species: | F. cretica |
| Binomial name | |
| Fagonia cretica L. | |
Fagonia cretica (Spanish: Manto de la Virgen, Virgin's Mantle) is a species of plant in the Zygophyllaceae, the Caltrop family, specifically the fagonbushes. It is found in Alicante province, Spain, the Balearic Islands, Crete, Malta, Cyprus and North Africa, from Morocco to Egypt.
The Manto de la Virgen is a plant of rocky coastlines, especially on Cabrera, Formentera, Ibiza, and Majorca of the islands. It is a creeping plant and has star-shaped, 5-narrow petal, violet to light violet flowers.
Another plant, known colloquially as Fagonia cretica, but actually Fagonia indica, is used as a local herbal remedy by Pakistani Punjabi women where the leaves are infused into a tea locally called Dramah.
Properties
Plant has sweet, bitter, sharp and sour taste according to different stages of growth and parts. The color of flowers is purple. Plant has large number of small fruits near thorns.
References
External links
- About Fagonia cretica-VHCA Herbals
- Topwalks - Fagonia cretica
- "University of the Balearic Islands" Species analysis-Fagonia cretica — herbarivirtual.uib.es