Forsskaolea tenacissima L.  

FORSSKALEA  L.

Slender herbs. Leaves alternate, serrate, without stinging hairs, trinerved, woolly on the under surface. Flowers unisexual, monoecious, crowded in sessile or nearly sessile clusters in the leaf axils, each cluster surrounded by an involucre of 4-6 fleecy leaves. Perianth absent in fertile female flowers. Male flower with 3-toothed calyx and1 stamen, calyx tubular and 1-lipped. Fruit achene, enclosed in the involucre.

 F. tenacissima L. ( = F. cossoniana Webb, Caidbeja adhaerens Forrsk.) : Rough bush, 10-60 cm. high, woolly with hooked stiff hairs. Leaves small, serrate, ovate-orbicular, white-woolly on the under surface, dark green on the upper, easily attaching to objects with which they come into contact. Calyx villous, with narrow lanceolate lobes.

NH, SH, S, NJ. E.