''Origanum cordifolium'' is a subshrub with suberect, cylindrical, hairless, often purplish shoots, 40–60 cm high. Leaves opposite, simple, entire or irregularly dentate, stalkless, ovoid to

cordate Cordate is an adjective meaning ' heart-shaped' and is most typically used for: * Cordate (leaf shape), in plants * Cordate axe, a prehistoric stone tool See also * Chordate A chordate ( ) is a bilaterian animal belonging to the phyl ...

, 1–2 x 0.8–2 cm, leathery, hairless, acute. Flowers on pendulous spikes,

zygomorphic Floral symmetry describes whether, and how, a flower, in particular its perianth, can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts. Uncommonly, flowers may have no axis of symmetry at all, typically because their parts are spir ...

, corolla bifid, whitish or pinkish, 1–4, subtended by purplish-green, large

bracts In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also loo ...

. Flowers June–August. Fruit of 4 nutlets.The Endemic Plants of Cyprus, Texts: Takis Ch. Tsintides, Photographs: Laizos Kourtellarides, Cyprus Association of Professional Foresters, Bank of Cyprus Group, Nicosia 1998,

Habitat

Moist, shady rocky slopes, by streams and roadbanks on

igneous Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial ...

rocks at 300–900 m.

Distribution

It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

and found In a limited area of the

Paphos Paphos, also spelled as Pafos, is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: #Old Paphos, Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and #New Paphos, New Paphos. It i ...

Forest in Roudhia Valley (Alonoudhi,

Steni Steni may refer to: Places * Steni, Paphos, village in the Paphos District of Cyprus * Steni Dirfyos, village on Euboea island, Greece * Steni Vala, village on the Greek island of Alonnisos People * Antonella Steni (1926 –2016), Italian ...

, etc.)

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q12242097 cordifolium Endemic flora of Cyprus