''Linaria ricardoi'' is a rare

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Port ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

plant species in the family

Plantaginaceae Plantaginaceae, the plantain family, is a large, diverse family of flowering plants in the order Lamiales that includes common flowers such as snapdragon and foxglove. It is unrelated to the banana-like fruit also called "plantain." In older ...

. It blossoms from March to April.

Distribution and habitat

''Linaria ricardoi'' is endemic to southern Portugal in the

Alentejo Alentejo ( , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond () the Tagus river" (''Tejo''). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alen ...

Region but the species' main distribution area is in the

Beja District The Beja District () is located in southern Portugal. The district capital is the city of Beja. It is the largest district of the country by area, and constitutes around 11% of its area. Municipalities The district is composed of 14 municipali ...

(specifically in

Ferreira do Alentejo Ferreira do Alentejo (), or simply Ferreira, is a town and a municipality in Beja District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 8,255, in an area of 648.25 km2. The present Mayor is Aníbal Coelho Costa, elected by the Socialist Party. Th ...

, Beja,

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and

Serpa Serpa () is a city and a Concelho (municipality) in the central Portuguese region Alentejo. The population in 2011 was 15,623, in an area of . The Guadiana River flows close to the town of Serpa. History Serpa has its origins in early settl ...

. It lives in

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeolog ...

and

oat The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human co ...

fields, fallows and meadows in traditional or mounted

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...

groves, rarely on embankments and side roads. It prefers acid soils of loam or clay and calcareous soils.

Threats

It is threatened by agricultural intensification and the related increase in herbicide use.

Overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

and droughts are other factors that can affect this plant.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q516897 ricardoi Endemic flora of Portugal Endemic flora of the Iberian Peninsula