Άγρια μαργαρίτα, 'Ανθεμις η ψευδοκυπελλοειδής, υποείδος η περιστρεφόμενη
Etymology of Anthemis pseudocotula subsp. rotata: Named "Anthemis" after the ancient Greeks and Romans. "Pseudocotula" come from the Ancient Greek "ψευδής" [psevdis], meaning "deceitful" and the species name "cotula", hence "deceitful cotula (subspecies)", emphasizing that it's a copy of the "original" species/plant Anthemis cotula. Latin "rotata" means "rotating".
There are at least 10 Anthemis taxa in the wild Cypriot habitat.
Anthemis pseudocotula subsp. rotata appears all around Cyprus at an altitude of up to 1225 metres. It primarily grows on roadsides, meadows and cultivated fields. Its flowering time is between March and July.
How to recognise Anthemis pseudocotula subsp. rotata:
In order to identify Anthemis pseudocotula subsp. rotata we primarily take into consideration its flowers, leaves, and bracts.
It has similar flowers to Anthemis amblyolepis, chia, cotula, palaestina, and parvifolia (it is a rare plant that grows only in eastern Cyprus).
Its leaves differ a lot from the ones of cotula. It has leaves that are alternate, twice pinnatisect, its basal leaves are petiolate; they have their segments linear-lanceolate, sessile, and pointed at the apex with a small acute and sharp projection (mucro), more or less densely hairy; its stem's leaves are sessile. On the contrary, cotula's more differentiated leaves are oblong or ovate-oblong in outline, deeply and irregularly dissected 2 or 3 times (2-3 pinnatisect), into shallow linear, rather fleshy, sparsely hairy, acuminate and mucronate divisions; their basal leaves are opposite, flat and sheathing at the base, while the upper leaves are alternate and more or less sessile. Amblyolepis's and palaestina's leaves are very different. As its name suggests, parvifolia has tiny leaves.
Thus it is more similar to chia, and cotula. Cotula has bracts rather hairless or subglabrous, oblong, wide and linear, with brownish margins (key difference); chia has bracts glabrous or subglabrous, oblong, lanceolate or triangular, with brownish/black edges; pseudocotula subsp. rotata has clearly hairy bracts, oblong, and linear.
A final tip: cotula can reach up to 70cm tall, whilst shorter pseudocotula subsp. rotata up to 30cm.