''Thlaspi cyprium'', the Cyprus penny-cress, is a
perennial
In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...
herb, flowering from February to May.
[The Endemic Plants of Cyprus, Texts: Takis Ch. Tsintides, Photographs: Laizos Kourtellarides, Cyprus Association of Professional Foresters, Bank of Cyprus Group, Nicosia 1998, ] This herb is a
nickel
Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...
hyperaccumulator
A hyperaccumulator is a plant capable of growing in soil or water with high concentrations of metals, absorbing them through their roots, and concentrating extremely high levels of metals in their tissues. The metals are concentrated at levels th ...
with a recorded accumulation rate of 52,120 mg/kg of dry weight.
Majeti Narasimha Vara Prasad, ''Nickelophilous plants and their significance in phytotechnologies''. Braz. J. Plant Physiol. Vol.17 no.1 Londrina Jan./Mar. 2005
Habitat
Moist rocky slopes and near streams on igneous rocks at 900–1900 m altitudes.
Distribution
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 ...
to
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 ...
, very common in the
Troödos forest, but occurs in other areas as well: Khionistra,
Prodromos, Kryos Potamos, Almyrolivadho, Pashia Livadhi, Papoutsa,
Saranti,
Lagoudhera, Platania, Kionia.
References
* Flora of Cyprus Volume 1, Robert Desmond Meikle, Bentham-Moxon Trust, The Herbarium Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, 1985,
* The Endemic Plants of Cyprus, Texts: Takis Ch. Tsintides, Photographs: Laizos Kourtellarides, Cyprus Association of Professional Foresters, Bank of Cyprus Group, Nicosia 1998,
External links
* http://botany.cz/en/thlaspi-cyprium/
* http://www.natureofcyprus.org/uploadimages/Thlaspicyprium600450endem.jpg
* http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/record/tro-100359067
{{Taxonbar, from=Q17642893
Brassicaceae
Endemic flora of Cyprus