Achillea fragrantissima

Tilcayo Cats original · Plants · Sources and editorial assessment · Originals retention rule

Achillea fragrantissima is an aromatic, woody-based perennial in the daisy family, Asteraceae. Its native range extends from the eastern Mediterranean into Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula. Kew accepts it as a species and describes its growth form as a subshrub.

Appearance

The Flora of Iraq describes plants about fifty centimetres to one metre tall. Their small, thick leaves have toothed edges and a covering of closely pressed hairs that may become less conspicuous with age. The yellow flowers are grouped in numerous small heads, arranged in loose, branching clusters.

The regional flora compiled by Danin and Fragman-Sapir describes the leaves as alternate and unlobed. It records the plant in desert and steppe districts, including the Negev and Judean Desert.

Habitat and seasonal growth

In Iraq, the species occurs on desert plains, sandy watercourse banks and low sandstone hills. The Flora of Iraq also records it in silty depressions and on gravelly ground, usually at elevations of about 200–650 metres, occasionally lower.

That regional treatment records flowering and fruiting mainly in April and May, sometimes beginning in March. Dry flower heads may remain attached until autumn. These dates describe the Iraqi account and need not apply throughout the plant's range.

Botanical names

Peter Forsskål originally named the plant Santolina fragrantissima in 1775. Carl Heinrich Schultz transferred it to Achillea in 1855. Kew also places the names Pyrethrum musilii and Tanacetum musilii in its synonymy.