''Lutzia cretica'' is a species of herbaceous plant endemic to the Aegean Islands of Greece. It is the only species in the genus ''Lutzia'', which belongs to the cabbage family

Brassicaceae Brassicaceae () or (the older but equally valid) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important Family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous pla ...

. Prior to a 2015 reappraisal based on

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

data, the plant was most commonly included in the genus '' Alyssoides'' as ''Alyssoides cretica''. ''Lutzia cretica'' grows into a characteristic spherical bush. Its leaves are greyish-white and

tomentose Trichomes (; ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plant ...

(covered in soft dense hairs). It produces large yellow flowers between February and April, and the fruits can remain on the plant until June. It grows in the crevices of limestone cliffs and ravines, from sea level up to 400m, less frequently as high as 800m. It is found on the islands of

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

(mostly the central and eastern parts and on some small offshore islets),

Kasos Kasos (; , ), also Casos, is a Greek island municipality in the Dodecanese. It is the southernmost island in the Aegean Sea, and is part of the regional unit Karpathos-Kasos. The capital of the island is Fri. , its population was 1,223. ...

Karpathos Karpathos (, ), also Carpathos, is the second largest of the Greek Dodecanese islands, in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Together with the neighboring smaller Saria Island it forms the municipality of Karpathos, which is part of the regional unit ...

, and

Astypalaia Astypalaia (Greek Language, Greek: Αστυπάλαια, ), is a Greece, Greek island with 1,334 residents (2011 census). It belongs to the Dodecanese, an archipelago of fifteen major islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea. However, many scholars ...

References

Brassicaceae Flora of Crete Flora of the East Aegean Islands Flora of Greece Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Brassicales-stub