| Cynomorium coccineum L., it is a holoparasitic geophyte perennial, giving off strong odour of putrefaction, deep red when young and blackish purple when flowering. It has a very distinctive appearance, much of it being underground, and is a parasite, using suckers to attach itself to Chenopodiaceous roots. Its rhizome is branched, scaly, with big fleshy 10-20-cm. stems, not branched, with several scales, ending in a club shaped inflorescence made up of little rudimentary contracted cymes. The flowers are either male, with a rudimentary ovary, or hermaphrodite, but all have a single stamen and 1-5 perianths over the ovary. The fruits are tiny black achenes with a tough pericarp in a persistent perigone. Life Form: Pa, Flowering in: Al. the year, Vern: Tartut, Phytochoria: SA+IT, The native range of this species is Canary Islands (Lanzarote), Medit. to Mauritania and Mongolia. Notes: Wild in Libya, desert species in saline area parasitic on Suaeda sp., etc., medicinal plant
For more information: https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:103330-1, https://www.ipni.org/n/103330-1, https://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000934734 https://www.gbif.org/species/7445043, https://africanplantdatabase.ch/en/nomen/specie/132216/cynomorium-coccineum-l, https://www.uicnmed.org/nabp/database/HTM/PDF/p78.pdf, https://flora.org.il/en/plants/CYNCOC/, https://www.teline.fr/en/photos/balanophoraceae/cynomorium-coccineum, https://academic.oup.com/botlinnean/article/120/3/279/2607906, https://www.maltawildplants.com/CYNM/Cynomorium_coccineum.php, https://botany.cz/en/cynomorium-coccineum/, https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/10/3/53 |
| Distribution in Libya | ||
| Al-Jafarah Plain | Sirte Plains | Benghazi Plain |
| Zuara 1977 | Sirte 2015, 2016 | Tra Bir Ackein, Msus by Pampanini |
| Jabal Nafusa | Al-Jabal Al-Akhder | Marmarica Plateau |
| Reported from Nalut by Keith (24 km) from Mizda 1977 | Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar 2021 | Reported from Tobruk by Keith |
| Ghadames area | Ghat area | |
| Reported from Ghadames by Keith | Reported from Ghat by Keith | |
| Bibliographic references: | |
| First: Encyclopedia Flora of Libyan: | |
| Ali,S.I. & Jafri, S.M.H. (1977) Flora of Libya, Cynomoriaceae Vol. (17) Department of Botany, Al-Faateh Univ., Tripoli, Libya. | |
| Second: Researches and PhD theses, master theses , Sorted by Newest: | pdf files |
| El-Mokasabi, F. M., Askar, A. M., Hassan, S. A. Al-Darawi, M., Al-Bakoush, A. M. (2021) Preliminary survey of the parasitic plants on wild plants in the Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar region. A special issue of the Fifth Annual Conference on Theories and Applications of Basic and Life Sciences. (4) September 2021. Faculty f Science-University of Misurata. (In Arabic) https://www.misuratau.edu.ly/journal/sci/paperS.php?id=1642&ed_id=305 | حصر أولي للنباتات الطفيلية في الجبل الاخضر 2021 |
| Elsayed, N. (2016) Relationship between Vegetation and Soil Seed Bank at Protected Versus Unprotected Sites at Coastal Habitats in Libya.CATRINA (2016), 15 (1): 59-68. https://scholar.google.com.eg/citations?user=mSAskW0AAAAJ&hl=en , https://cat.journals.ekb.eg/article_18337_76652686b5c99f5fd479aebab87fbcb4.pdf | Surt region in Libya 2016 |
| Elsayed M. A. N. (2015) Floristic Composition of the Plant Cover at Surt Region in Libya. Catrina (2015), 12 (1): 63-71-2010 By the Egyptian society for environmental SCIENCES. https://cat.journals.ekb.eg/article_18403_37c687e375b9144800a15704e68ebad7.pdf | Plant Cover at Surt Region 2015 |