''Morettia'' is a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s belonging to the 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 ...

. Its native range is southern and eastern Mediterranean to the

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

and the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

. It is found in the countries of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, the Gulf States, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sinai, Sudan, Tunisia and Yemen. The genus name of ''Morettia'' is in honour of

Giuseppe Moretti Giuseppe Moretti (3 February 1857 – February 1935) was an Italian émigré sculptor who became known in the United States for his public monuments in bronze and marble. Notable among his works is '' Vulcan'' in Birmingham, Alabama, which is ...

(1782–1853), an Italian botanist. It was first described and published in Mém. Mus. Hist. Nat. Vol.7 on page 236 in 1821.

Known species

According to Kew: *'' Morettia canescens'' *'' Morettia kilianii'' *'' Morettia parviflora'' *'' Morettia philaeana''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q9035141 Brassicaceae Brassicaceae genera Plants described in 1821 Flora of North Africa Flora of Niger Flora of Mali Flora of Mauritania Flora of Chad Flora of Sudan Flora of Western Asia Flora of the Arabian Peninsula