Crepis aspera

Κρηπίδα η τραχεία

Etymology of Crepis aspera: The name "Crepis" derives from the Ancient Greek "κρηπίς" which is "a platform, the base with stairs, on which the temples were built in ancient Greece", because of the formation of its leaves on where the stems with the flowers stand in some species of the genus. Latin female "aspera" means "rough", referring to the rough-haired or spined stems and flowers of the species.

There are about 200 species in this genus. In Cyprus, we encounter 9 species and two subspecies (11 taxa). Their flowers are more or less the same.

Crepis aspera is a common plant in Cyprus, it is encountered all around the island, except in the central plains of Mesaoria, the mountains exceeding 1150 metres, the northwestern and central-northern Cyprus. It is found up to an altitude of up to 1150 metres. Crepis aspera blooms between March and June.

How to identify Crepis aspera:

It is an annual plant with stems. The stems are usually setose with scattered, rigid, spreading bristles. The involucre is not glabrous or subglabrous. The leaves are not all basal. The capitula is pedunculate.  The peduncles are very short, 5-10(-20) mm long, becoming thick and rigid in the fruit.