''Tordylium maximum'', known as hartwort, is an annual or biennial flowering plant in the carrot family ( Apiaceae).

Description

''Tordylium maximum'' is a hairy or bristly biennial or annual, growing to about tall, with a hollow ridged stem that is usually branched. The lower leaves are pinnate, with two to five pairs of coarsely toothed leaflets. The upper leaves may be reduced to a single leaflet. The flowers are arranged in flat umbels, with 5–15 rays. Like other members of the genus '' Tordylium'', the flowers are white, with the outer flowers having some much longer petals on the outer side of the umbel. The fruits are long.

Taxonomy

''Tordylium maximum'' was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 in ''

Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial names and was the ...

''.

Distribution

''Tordylium maximum'' is a species of south and south central Europe, probably not native in the northern parts of its range. It has been found in south-east England, but only in one location in south Essex since 1875.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q866985 Apioideae Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus