''Dittrichia viscosa'', also known as false yellowhead, woody fleabane, sticky fleabane and yellow fleabane, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

in the

daisy family The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

. ''Dittrichia viscosa'' is a highly branching

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

common throughout the

Mediterranean Basin In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and w ...

. It has long, narrow leaves that are pointed at both ends and have teeth along the edges and

glandular In animals, a gland is a group of cells in an animal's body that synthesizes substances (such as hormones) for release into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). Structure De ...

hairs on the surfaces. One plant can produce many yellow

flower heads A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...

each with as many as 16

ray florets The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae we ...

and 44

disc floret The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae we ...

s. Originally, the species was found mainly in dry riverbeds and abandoned fields up to a 1500 m (5000 feet) elevation. Nowadays it is quite common in roadsides and

ruderal A ruderal species is a plant species that is first to colonize disturbed lands. The disturbance may be natural for example, wildfires or avalanchesor the consequences of human activities, such as construction ( of roads, of buildings, mining, et ...

habitats, even in urban areas. It is considered an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species adv ...

in Australia. The false yellowhead is a tough plant, very resistant to adverse conditions and degraded environments. It is important as food for the caterpillars of certain butterflies and moths, like '' Iolana iolas''. The

galls Galls (from the Latin , 'oak-apple') or ''cecidia'' (from the Greek , anything gushing out) are a kind of swelling growth on the external tissues of plants, fungi, or animals. Plant galls are abnormal outgrowths of plant tissues, similar to be ...

of the plants also are habitat for ''

Myopites stylatus Myopites stylatus is a species of tephritid or fruit flies in the family Tephritidae. Distribution This species is present in Europe (Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, France and Italy), in the Near East and in North Africa. Description ' ...

'' and '' Myopites inulaedyssentericae'', both predators on the olive fly, which may be cause for its name in Catalán: ''Olivarda''. Despite the fresh-looking green color of its leaves and its attractive

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...

, this plant is sticky and has a certain smell that most people find unpleasant. It contains an essential oil and has been used in

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before th ...

since ancient times, especially in the

Levant The Levant () is an approximation, approximate historical geography, historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology an ...

, as an

astringent An astringent (sometimes called adstringent) is a chemical that shrinks or constricts body tissues. The word derives from the Latin ''adstringere'', which means "to bind fast". Calamine lotion, witch hazel, and yerba mansa, a Californian pl ...

. A yellow dye substance has, since ancient times, been produced from its roots., s.v. ''Inula viscosa''; syn. ''Dittrichia viscosa'' It is an important plant in Catalan tradition, often mentioned in adages and

proverb A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbial ...

s. One adage says that: ''"No vos 'nemoreu, amor,de cap fadrina gallarda que és com la flor d'olivarda molt guapa, i dolenta d'olor."'' y dear one, don't fall in love with any woman who only has good looks, she is like a false yellowhead flower: beautiful, but full of stench. ;Subspecies *''Dittrichia viscosa'' subsp. ''angustifolia'' (Bég.) Greuter *''Dittrichia viscosa'' subsp. ''maritima'' (Brullo & De Marco) Greuter *''Dittrichia viscosa'' subsp. ''revoluta'' (Hoffmanns. & Link) P.Silva & Tutin *''Dittrichia viscosa'' subsp. ''viscosa''

Leaves, flowers and fruits

File:Inula viscosa01.jpg, ''Dittrichia viscosa'' habitus File:Inula viscosa seed heads.jpg, Seed heads File:Inula viscosa flowers.jpg, ''Dittrichia viscosa''. Flowerheads File:Inula viscosa leaves.jpg, Leaves File:Utetheisa pulchella on Dittrichia viscosa 1.JPG, ''

Utetheisa pulchella ''Utetheisa pulchella'', the crimson-speckled flunkey, crimson-speckled footman, or crimson-speckled moth, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. Sub ...

'' on ''Dittrichia viscosa'' File:Ruderal community Dittrichia viscosa on gravel01.jpg, Ruderal community of ''Dittrichia viscosa'' growing on the railway-side gravel next to

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Jews of the Old Yishuv, and became a permanent s ...

Sgula Sgula ( he, סְגֻלָּה, סגולה) is a moshav in south-central Israel. North of Kiryat Gat, it falls under the jurisdiction of Yoav Regional Council. In it had a population of 717. History The moshav was founded in 1953 by native Israel ...

railway station,

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. File:D. viscosa-cips-1.jpg, Cypselae ''in situ''

References

External links

* *
Universitat de las Illes Balears- Herbari virtual - ''Dittrichia viscosa'' (L.) Greuter
in

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid ...

with photo {{Taxonbar, from=Q311844 Inuleae Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Plant dyes Flora of Malta