Sideritis murgetana Obón & D. Rivera

Family: LABIATAE (LAMIACEAE)

Genus: Sideritis

Sinònims: Sideritis leucantha Cav. subsp. murgetana Obón et D. Rivera

Catalan common name: Rabet de gat murcià.

Spanish common name: Rabogato murciano.

Province distribution: Alacant.

General distribution (Phytogeography): Mediterranean (Eastern-Iberian)

Plants protected by law: País Valencià Catalogue.

IUCN Category: LCLeast concern

Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Life-forms: Chameophyte.

Habitats: Quercus coccifera and Rhamnus oleoides continental maquis. Quercus coccifera and Chamaerops humilis litoral maquis. Low, dry shrublands on limestone, in warm, low-elevation mountainous areas with very little rainfall

Characteristics: Woody shrub up to 80 cm tall, tomentose-whitish and aromatic. Leaves spatulate, entire or with 1-2 pairs of lateral teeth, and spinescent. Inflorescence verticillate with purplish tones, arranged in whorls of 2-6 flowers; bracts 5-9 mm long, with 5-7 pairs of teeth. Calyx with an inner ring of hairs and purplish colouring, especially on the teeth. Corolla 7-10 mm, entirely white

Observations: Two subspecies are recognized: subsp. murgetana, with whorls consistently of 6 flowers, bracts up to 9 mm long, and 1 mm long hairs, distributed in inland areas of southern Alicante; and subsp. littoralis, with whorls of 2-6 flowers, smaller bracts (around 6 mm), and 0,5 mm long hairs, found in coastal areas of southeastern Alicante. The image corresponds to subsp. littoralis