Heath-leaved fumana
Fumana ericifolia
Family · Cistaceae · Harmless
The fumana with needle leaves so fine it looks like a heath, clinging to limestone slabs and skeletal soils. It is woody and fits in the palm of a hand.
Scrubland · Uplands · Walls and rocks
Also known asheath fumana
How to tell it
Very narrow, almost cylindrical leaves, alternate along thin branches, heath-like. Small yellow flowers with five fragile petals. It is told from the common fumana by its alternate rather than opposite leaves.
What it is confused with
Thyme-leaved fumana
Fumana thymifolia
Note how the leaves come out: opposite, in pairs, on the common fumana; alternate, one at a time, here. Both harmless.
What it is for
No use
An indicator of shallow, very dry limestone, and good company to the common fumana, with which it shares the same handspan of rock.
Where it occurs
Each square is an area with recorded observations of this plant. The lighter background is the set of areas where any of the entries has been observed, and serves as a reference. Note what this is not: it is not where the plant lives, it is where people record it, so trails and towns always look fuller than the mountains. Data from GBIF.
Sources
Community
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