Daphne cneorum, L.

10. D. cneorum L. View in CoL , Sp. Pl. 357 (1753) View Cited Treatment

(inch D. julia Kos.-Pol. ).

Evergreen dwarf shrub with usually decumbent or ascending, long, slender, straight, smooth branches; young shoots pubescent, greyish. Leaves 10—18(—25) x (2—)3—5(—6) mm, usually 3-4 times as long as wide, oblong or linear-oblanceolate, obtuse, sometimes mucronate, sessile, glabrous, not clustered at the ends of the branches. Flowers fragrant, pink, subsessile, in heads of 6-10(-20), subtended by bracts similar to the leaves but smaller. Hypanthium 6-10 mm, usually covered with whitish hairs; sepals 4-6 mm, obtuse. Drupe brownish-yellow, included in the hypanthium till ripe. 2n = 18. Dry or stony places; usually calcicole. • C. Europe, extending to N. W. Spain, C. Italy, Bulgaria and C. Ukraine. Al Au Bu Cz Ga Ge He Hs Hu It Ju Po Rm Rs (C, W).

Plants have been recorded from Bulgaria (Pirin Planina) with young shoots and hypanthium glabrous, as in 11, but with short, wide leaves as in 10. There is no information available about their fruits. Plants from W. Hungary, S.E. Austria and N. Jugoslavia, with revolute leaf-margins and a rather erect habit, have been described as f. arbusculoides Tuzson , Bot. Közl. 10: 151 (1911). This occurs only on acid soils and may, perhaps, deserve recognition as a subspecies.