| Ecballium elaterium (L.) A.Rich., it is an annual monoeciou plant hispid . Stems fleshy, usually procumbent, up to 1 m long or more, without tendrils. Leaves fleshy, long-petiolate (petiole up to 10 cm or more), lamina triangular, entire, subcordate at base, crenate, wavy-margined. Calyx shortly ampanulate, 5-partite. Male flowers in axillary racemes; corolla almost rotate, 5-lobed, pale yellow, stamens 5. Female flowers often solitary, axillary. Fruits 3–5 x 1.5–5 cm, green, peponiform, ellipsoid, hispid, dehiscing explosively at the base, many-seeded. Seeds narrowly obovate to elliptical in outline, flattened, dark brown amber, mucilaginous. Life Form: H, Flowering in: Al. the year. , specially Feb.-Sept, Vern:————, Phytochoria: MED+IT, The native range of this species is Canary Islands, Medit. to S. European Russia and N. Iran. Notes: Wild in Libya, medicinal plant.
For more information: https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:292573-1, https://www.ipni.org/n/292573-1, https://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000659225, https://www.gbif.org/species/2874680, https://africanplantdatabase.ch/en/nomen/specie/142569/ecballium-elaterium-l-a-rich, https://www.atlasdesemillasdecanarias.org/atlas/ficha.php?ID=258, https://www.actaplantarum.org/flora/flora_info.php?id=2765, https://flora.org.il/en/plants/ECBELA/, https://dryades.units.it/lamone/index.php?procedure=taxon_page&id=3306&num=2836 |
| Distribution in Libya | ||
| Al-Jafarah Plain | Zliten-Misurata Plain | Benghazi Plain |
| Sabrata 2008 | Leptus Megna 2004 | Wadi El-Ghattara 2010 Wadi El-Enaghar 2021 |
| Jabal Nafusa | Al-Jabal Al-Akhder | Marmarica Plateau |
| Khoms?? Msallata National Park (Shaafeen) 2013 | (87 km) from Baida 1972 Wadi Al-Agar 1999 Wadi Zaza 2003 El-Hamamah to Biada 2003 El-Bakur 2007 Wadi El-Kouf 2014 Wadi Haboon 2015 Wadi Zaza 2017 Ain Mara 2020 Wadi Al-Kouf 2021 | Marmarica (north-eastern part of Libya) 2002 |
| Bibliographic references: | |
| First: Encyclopedia Flora of Libyan: | |
| Jafri, S.M.H. & El-Gadi, A. (1977) Flora of Libya, Cucuribitaceae Vol. (32) Department of Botany, Al-Faateh Univ., Tripoli, Libya. | |
| Second: Researches and PhD theses, master theses , Sorted by Newest: | pdf files |
| Al-Traboulsi, M. & Alaib, M.A. (2021) A Survey of medicinal plants of Wadi Al-Kouf in Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar, Libya. NAT. CROAT, VOL. 30. No 2. (389-404), ZAGREB. December 31, 2021. https://hrcak.srce.hr/269442 /, https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/390805 | Medicinal plants of Wadi Al-Kouf 2021 |
| Omar, N., El-Mghrbi, N.G., Rahil, R.O., Alaib, M.A., Alzerbi, A.K. (2021) Floristic Composition and Plant Diversity of Western Part of Wadi El- Enaghar, Libya. Species-22(70), 2021. pp. (204-217). https://bit.ly/41TInWw, http://www.discoveryjournals.org/Species/current_issue/2021/v22/n70/index.htm, http://www.discoveryjournals.org/Species/current_issue/2021/v22/n70/A4.pdf | Wadi El- Enaghar, Libya 2021 |
| Saaed, M.W.B., EL-Barasi, Y.M. & Rahil, R.O. (2021) An updated checklist and quantitative analysis of the Marmarica Plateau flora, in the north-eastern part of Libya. Phytotaxa 509 (1): 001-055. https://www.mapress.com/j/pt/, https://www.biotaxa.org/Phytotaxa/article/view/phytotaxa.509.1.1 | An updated Marmarica Plateau flora 2021 |
| Al-Maqsabi, F. M. & Makhlouf, M. A. (2020) Vegetation cover in the Ain Mara region, Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar region – Libya. The Libyan Journal of Science (An International Journal): Volume 23, 2020. (In Arabic) https://uot.edu.ly/journals/index.php/ljs/article/view/122, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Farag-Elmokasabi-2 | Vegetation Cover of Ain Mara 2020 |
| Mukassabi, T.A., Thomas,P.A., ELMogasapi, A.(2017) Medicinal plants in Cyrenaica, Libya: existence and extinction. Biological Diversity and Conservation – 10/2 (2017) 183-192. https://bit.ly/44GKtLd, https://eprints.keele.ac.uk/id/eprint/4064/ | Medicinal plants in Cyrenaica 2017 |
| El-Rabiai, G.T. & Al tira, M. (2015) Checklist of the Flora of Wadi Haboon at AI Jabal AI Akhdar (Cyrenaica, Libya). International Journal of Pharmacy & Life Sciences 6(8-9): Aug-Sep, 2015:4661-4665] Coden (USA): IJPLCP ISSN: 0976-7126 http://uob.edu.ly/assets/uploads/pagedownloads/27a3a-wadi-haboon.pdf | Wadi Haboon at AI Jabal AI Akhdar 2015 |
| El-Mokasabi, F M. (2014) Floristic Composition and Traditional Uses of Plant Species at Wadi Al-kuf, Al-Jabal Al-Akhder, Libya. American-Eurasian J. Agric. & Environ. Sci., 14 (8): 685-697, 2014, ISSN 1818-769,IDOSI Publications,2014DOI:10.5829/idosi.aejaes.2014.14.08.12375. https://bit.ly/3VtCvAA, https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/441b/23b83960f007044aca94e26f5c6b170fe102.pdf | Plant Species at Wadi Al-kuf 2014 |
| Al-Masalati, N. A. A. (2013) Plant diversity across the altitudes of the Msallata National Park Reserve Mountains. Master Thesis. Botany Department-College of Science-University of Benghazi-Libya. (In Arabic) | |
| El-Rabiai, G.T., Al tira, F.M., Lamlom, S.H. (2010) Preliminary Checklist for the Flora of Wadi El Ghattara in Libya. Garyounis University Press Journal of Science and Its Applications Vol. 4, No. 1, pp 39-47, December 2010. http://sc.uob.edu.ly/assets/uploads/pagedownloads/5c3e5-39-47.pdf | Flora of Wadi El Ghattara 2010 |
| El-Yafour, L. A. (2008) Taxonomic study of the vegetation properties of Sabratha city Master Thesis. Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Al-Zawiya University, Libya. (In Arabic) | |
| Abd Al-lkhaleq, Y. M. (2007) Vegetation Coverage of El-Bakur Highlands in Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar. Master Thesis, Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Garyounis University, Libya. (In Arabic) | |
| El-Komati, A. F. (2004) Medicinal plants in the Shapiat of Marqab, their distribution, classification and importance. Master Thesis. Biology Department- Faculty of Science-Al-Marqab University. Al-Khums. Libya. (In Arabic) | |
| Al-Sodany, Y. M., Shehata, M. N. & Shaltout, K. H. (2003): Vegetation along an elevation gradient in Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar, Libya. ecologia mediterranea, tome 29, fascicule 2, 2003, p. 125-138. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yassin-Al-Sodany, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kamal-Shaltout | Vegetation an elevation in Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar 2003 |
| El-Barasi, Y. M., EI-Sherif, l. M. & Gawhari, A. M. H.(2003) Checklist and analysis of the flora and vegetation of Wadi Zaza at AI-Jabal AI Akhdar (Cyrenaica, Libya). Bocconea 16 (2): 1091-1105. 2003. – ISSN 1120-4060. https://bit.ly/3VowJ3q, http://www.herbmedit.org/bocconea/16-1091.pdf | flora and vegetation of Wadi Zaza 2003_compressed |
| El-Shaary M.S. (2002). The Natural Vegetation in Marmarica plateau (North-eastern Libya). First ed. Tobruk (Libya): Published by the local Authority. (In Arabic) | |
| Al-Hamadi R.I.(1999) Floristic and ecological study of Wadi Al-Agar, Master Thesis, Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Botany Department-Faculty of Science-Garyounis University, Benghazi, Libya. (In Arabic) |
