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Sand Stock (Malcolmialittorea). Coastal Path

Diputación de Málaga
Alhelí de mar (Malcolmia littorea). Senda Litoral

Sand Stock (Malcolmialittorea). Coastal Path

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Plant Life > Trees, Bushes and Herbaceous Plants

DESCRIPTION

Malcolmialittorea is a perennial plant with a lot of woody stalks at the base. Stalks are lying on the floor, have woody base, and they are from 10 to 40 cm long. They are ash-white colour and covered in dense off-white hairs or 'trichomes'. More or less oval leaves with margins (with or without teeth) lean on the stalks. Flowers display in groups of 5 to 20, and have some off-white cover. Their four petals are purple or lilac-pink. Seeds are small with dark chestnut colour and ovoid shape. Their surface is rough.

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT

Malcolmialittoreais distributed all over Málaga county on coastal dunes, above all on secondary and grey dunes (those covered by a continuous layer of herbaceous vegetation), up to 600 m of altitude, although they can also be found in primary dunes or embryonic shifting dunes, where the wind is stronger and salinity is higher, and they can even live in rocky and stony areas.

HOW THEY LIVE

This plant has wonderful flowers. Every specimen generates round ten flowers which cover great stretches and colour beaches purple. They reproduce by seeds which are scattered by the wind because of its small size.

WHERE THEY CAN BE SEEN IN MÁLAGA

Malcolmialittoreacan be found all along the coast of Málaga, from dunes to sandy beaches on the western coast and in rocky areas and beaches at the eastern coast cliffs.

INTERESTING FACTS

The genus Malcolmiawas named after William Malcom (died in 1798), gardener, nurseryman and owner of a nursery in Kennington (England) or maybe his nephew William Malcolm (1769?-1835), director of Kensington Garden in England. The name of the species 'littorea' is a Latin adjective that means 'on the coast, close to the sea'.

SIMILAR SPECIES

This species belongs to the family Brassicaceae (often called Cruciferae) with plenty of plants that are similar to it above all, it can be easily confused with the plants from the genus Matthiola.

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