Softly
hairy perennial plant, of 10-30cm height, turgid or ascending
with simple opposite leaves. The flowers, 4 to 6 clustered
in the axils of the leaves, are pale yellow.
Reproduction
Pollination by insects and auto-compatible. It can also reproduce
from rhizomes, an adaptation to the area in which it grows:
moving sands.
Habitat
and distribution
Sand
dune plant characteristic to the Agropyretum-mediterraneum
family, found in low beaches. Studies carried out in the Costa
Brava places it in the Cricianelletum maritimae family. The
species can be found on the Mediterranean basin, from the
Iberian coast to the Black Sea, and from Turkey to Algeria.
It is also found in Corsica but not in the Balearic Islands,
Sardinia or Sicily.
Threats
Habitat
loss. Machines used to clean beaches restrict the settlement
of the species.
