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Blue Hound's Tongue

Cynoglossum creticum  Miller  (Fam: BORAGINACEAE.)
Cynoglossum creticum  / Blue Hound's Tongue / Ilsien il-Kelb
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Boraginaceae Index

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Visitors (Nov-2006):

Nomenclature

Species name:

Cynoglossum creticum   Miller

Author(s):

Philip Miller;
   England, 1691-1771

Principal Synonyms:

Cynoglossum pictum, Cynoglossum atlanticum, Cynoglossum siculum

Common names:

Blue Hound's Tongue

Maltese names:

Ilsien il-Kelb

Plant Family:

Boraginaceae   (Borage Family)

Status:

Indigenous. Originating from the Maltese islands

Remarks:

-


Specifications & Description

Life Cycle:

Biennial.

Growth Form:

HEMICRYPTOPHYTE (Creeping plants)

Habitat:

Disturbed areas and wasteland especially near arable areas. Also commonly found in dry areas besides valleys.

Frequency:

Frequent

Localities in Malta:

Locally frequent. Examples include Wied Babu, Wied Encita, Wied Qirda and Buskett. Also reported from Gozo (Mgarr, Ta' Cenc, Xlendi).

Plant Height:

40-70cm.

Flowering Period:

Feb - May

Protection in Malta:

Not Protected by Law (LN200/2011 or LN311/2006)

Red List 1989:

Not listed in the Flora section of the National Red Data Book (Lanfranco, 1989)

Poison:

Data not available


Photo Gallery (11 images)

   Cynoglossum creticum   -   Image Code: CYGCR-0.
Cynoglossum creticum  / Blue Hound's Tongue / Ilsien il-Kelb
   Cynoglossum creticum   -   Image Code: CYGCR-1.
Cynoglossum creticum  / Blue Hound's Tongue / Ilsien il-Kelb
   Cynoglossum creticum   -   Image Code: CYGCR-2.
Cynoglossum creticum  / Blue Hound's Tongue / Ilsien il-Kelb
   Cynoglossum creticum   -   Image Code: CYGCR-3.
Cynoglossum creticum  / Blue Hound's Tongue / Ilsien il-Kelb
   Cynoglossum creticum   -   Image Code: CYGCR-4.
Cynoglossum creticum  / Blue Hound's Tongue / Ilsien il-Kelb
   Cynoglossum creticum   -   Image Code: CYGCR-5.
Cynoglossum creticum  / Blue Hound's Tongue / Ilsien il-Kelb
   Cynoglossum creticum   -   Image Code: CYGCR-6.
Cynoglossum creticum  / Blue Hound's Tongue / Ilsien il-Kelb
   Cynoglossum creticum   -   Image Code: CYGCR-7.
Cynoglossum creticum  / Blue Hound's Tongue / Ilsien il-Kelb
   Cynoglossum creticum   -   Image Code: CYGCR-8.
Cynoglossum creticum  / Blue Hound's Tongue / Ilsien il-Kelb
   Cynoglossum creticum   -   Image Code: CYGCR-9.
Cynoglossum creticum  / Blue Hound's Tongue / Ilsien il-Kelb
   Cynoglossum creticum   -   Image Code: CYGCR-10.
Cynoglossum creticum  / Blue Hound's Tongue / Ilsien il-Kelb

Links & Further info

More info about Cynoglossum creticum from Google: Search images of Cynoglossum creticum from Google:
More info about Cynoglossum creticum from Yahoo: Search images of Cynoglossum creticum from Yahoo:
Distribution of Cynoglossum creticum from GBIF Search Cynoglossum creticum on Encyclopaedia of Life
Search for Cynoglossum creticum on the FORUM of MaltaWildPlants.com


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Try to be as concise as possible. Examples: Dingli Cliffs (near chapel), Wied Incita (Zebbug side), Triq il-Kbira (Qormi), Barriera ta\' Abdul (Xlendi), Fields near Salib tal-gholja (Siggiewi). GPS bearings are also welcomed!
 
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Wild Plants of Malta & Gozo - Plant: Cynoglossum creticum (Blue Hound's Tongue)

Blue Hound's Tongue

Cynoglossum creticum / Blue Hound's Tongue

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Visitor hits (Nov/06)

Nomenclature

Species name:

Cynoglossum creticum   Mill.

Author(s):

Philip Miller
   England, 1691-1771

Common name:

Blue Hound's Tongue

Maltese name:

Ilsien il-Kelb

Plant Family:

Boraginaceae   (Borage Family)

Name Derivation:

Cynoglossum = Greek for "dog's tongue" from kynos, "dog," and glossa, "a tongue" (Greek);
creticum = Related to Crete, eg: first described from Crete or of Cretan origin (Latin).

Synonyms:

Cynoglossum pictum, Cynoglossum atlanticum, Cynoglossum siculum


Plant Description

Life Cycle:

Biennial

Habitat:

Disturbed areas and wasteland especially near arable areas. Also commonly found in dry areas beside valleys.

Source in Malta:

Uncommon or locally frequent. Examples include Wied Babu, Wied Incita, Wied Qirda and Buskett. Also reported from Gozo (Mgarr, Ta' Cenc and Xlendi).

Plant Height:

40-70cm

Flowering Time:

Feb-May

Cynoglossum creticum A herbaceous, medium-tall, multi-flowering plant that usually has a 2-years life time. Stems are green, erect, moderately branched (mostly at flowering part) and covered by stiff, bristly hairs.

The soft and hairy leaves are oblong to lance-shaped with an entire, untoothed margin. Tip is rounded whereas the base is amplexicual, that is, clasping the stem. Basal leaves can lack the stem clasping feature and instead have a short petiole (=subsessile). Most of the leaves are found pointing up except the basal ones which tend to arc down. Another foliar feature is that most of the lamina is wavy. Pinnate venation is well visible in the dark green leaves which can grow up to 20cm long by 3cm wide.

The glabrous flowers lack bracts and are born in long scorpoid racemes (tips are coiled as a scorpion tail). The calyx is composed of 5 oblong and hairy sepals, actinomorphic and 6-8mm long. The corolla consists of what looks like to be 5 rounded petals that are fused at their base. Actually these are external lobes of a funnel-shaped, single corolla tube. Flowers are initially purple-red in buds and when just blossomed and they rapidly change into bluish colour after they open up. For this reason one may see purple and blue flowers on the same flower raceme. What makes the corolla attractive is the deep colour of the net-like veins running along the paler colours of the corolla, which finely branch at the tips of the corolla lobes. The corolla is further decorated by 5 rounded, elevated, deep purple, fluffy structures encircling the central mouth of the tube; these are neither stamen nor stigmas.

Cynoglossum creticum The reproductive organs are actually small and non showy. Female part consists of a gynobasic ovary situated and mostly hidden at the base of the calyx with a small inconspicuous stigma. The stamens are inserted (joined at) the lower part of the corolla tube and also not much visible externally.

Each flower gives rise to a set of 4 nutlets found well exposed in each calyx. The nutlets are initially green and when fully mature they grow up to 6-7mm wide and becomes brown in colour. They have the shape of flattened pillows but covered with numerous thick, stout, barbed bristles (known as glochidiates). The nutlets (or seeds) of this plant are notorious for sticking to clothes and socks while walking in the countryside, a successful 'animal' seed-dispersion method thanks to the sticky glochidiates.


Links & Further info

Info Link 3 Info Link 4 (Spanish)


Buy and Support MaltaWildPlants.com

Buy Seeds from Maltawildplants.com Buy samples of seeds of certain wild plants for your studies, trials, research, etc. Not all species' seeds can be exported (depending maltese regulations), and availability depends on season of species. So, before any payment, you are kindly asked to fill in the online quotation/order form by which I can contact you back for availability and charges. Buy Seeds from Maltawildplants.com   Online Quotation

Buy Seeds from Maltawildplants.com   Online Payment
Buy Documents from Maltawildplants.com Buy documents related to Maltese Wild Plants such as the list of references, full profile, or other docs you request. Buy Documents from Maltawildplants.com   Online Payment
Buy Images  from Maltawildplants.com Buy any of my own copyright images found in this large collection of Maltese flora. You should first select the image you want to buy and input its corresponding code (found beneath each individual photo) in the online ordering form. Buy Seeds from Maltawildplants.com   Online Payment
Buy Seeds from Maltawildplants.com Kindly donate any sum of money (from 2USD / 2Euro) to help us covering some expenses needed to maintain Maltawildplants.com. Please bear in mind how much hard work such a large and up-to-date website needs to arrive directly to you home, office or library. Your kind donations are both greatly appreciated and recorded for future reference. Donors asking help will have first que preference for assistance and special attention. Buy Seeds from Maltawildplants.com   Online Donation


Submit More Information

Use the form below to submit more information about this plant or a related species. Later on, this info will be included in this plant profile. You are kindly asked to provide the reference(s) from which the written information is taken. If it is your own observation or reference, simply write how you wish to be cited. Otherwise input the book or website from where your information is taken.

Your Email address will never be displayed online, it is just for internal communication.

You can also report the location where you have seen this particular plant on the Maltese islands to have a more extensive floral map of our islands.

Finally you can report any corrections needed for erranous data found in any part of this plant profile. This will definitely help to make this resource become better and more accurate.

To have more details about each particular field, just move your mouse on it and wait for the help message to pop up

* = required fields.
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Fill any one or more of the following 3 sections of this form. Thanks for your support.
A:  Additional Information about this plant species
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Your Reference:
Additional Info 1
Reference
Additional Info 2
Reference
 
B:   Where you have seen this plant on the Maltese Islands
Locations in Malta or Gozo where you have encountered this plant.
Mostly applies for locally frequent to rare plants.

1:        2:   
3:       4:   
5:       6:   

Try to be as concise as possible. Examples: Dingli Cliffs (near chapel), Wied Incita (Zebbug bank), Golden Bay, Triq il-Kbira (Qormi), Barriera ta' Abdul (Xlendi), Fields near salib tal-gholja (Siggiewi), Buskett (Verdala side), Chadwik Lakes (Fiddien side) and other such locations around Malta and Gozo. GPS readings are welcomed too! Thank you.
 
C:  Corrections for mistakes and errors in this plant profile.
Section of this plant Profile page where you found an error (select one)

What is the error/mistake
What should be its correction
          






All material and data on this webpage is under the copyright of the author of this site - Stephen Mifsud / www.MaltaWildPlants.com / Malta. (2002-2010)
This research project about the flora of Malta is sponsored by:
Nature Guided Tours in the best countryside areas of Malta A Fund established to help in the amelioration and enhancement of the environment in Malta and to take initiatives that enhance awareness on environmental issues amongst the public Advertise in this space Advertise in this space Advertise in this space