Nomenclature

Species name:

Adonis microcarpa   DC

Author(s):

Augustin Pyramus de Candolle
   Switzerland & France, 1778-1841

Common name:

Pheasant's eye,
Small-fruited pheasant's eye,
Red Chamomile

Maltese name:

Ghalet is-serduq,
Ghajn is-serduq,

Plant Family:

Ranunculaceae   (Buttercup Family)

Name Derivation:

Adonis = A genus named for the greek God of plants (adonis). According greek mythology the flower is supposed to have sprung from the blood of Adonis who was killed by a wild boar (Greek);

microcarpa = Tiny fruit (Latin).

Synonyms:

Adonis annua ssp. carinata, Adonis aestivalis subsp. aestivalis, Adonis dentata, Adonis intermedia.

Plant Description

Life Cycle:

Annual

Habitat:

Found mainly near fields. Also in rich soil pockets on waste-ground or even garigue.

Sources in Malta:

Locations remain undisclosed so as to protect this rare plant which during the last few decades, it was continuously decreasing.

Plant Height:

up to 10cm

Flowering Time:

Jan-May

A small, erect, herbaceous plant which few decades ago was common but it has been decreasing gradually and so much rapidly from our islands, that now it become a rare plant. The glabrous stem is angled (not a circular cross-section) and relatively thick for the short height of the plant which is usually around 10cm but in old descriptions was reported to reach a height of up to 40cm

Leaves are deeply pinnatisect into numerous linear segments, each ending with a bristle-like or pointed. tip. Can be assimilated to reindeer horns!

The solitary flowers are rather conspicuous due to their deep red or sometimes brown colour. Some descriptions states that the flower colour is yellow. It consist of a variable number of petal-like sepals (but usually 5 are found) which have a reddish-brown colour; one can easily mistake them as petals. One important identification structure is that the sepals have a pointed tip, whereas petals have it rounded. The number of the shining petals varies between 5-8. They overlap and are found at sub-erect position hence collectively forming a cup-shaped flower. No nectaries are found in this Ranunculaceae species.

The female reproductive organs consist of 1 to 2 dozen of achenes sitting packed together on a convex receptacle at the centre of the flower. The male organs are composed of a ring of short-filament stamens that emerge and encircle the base of the receptacle. The anthers are maroon to purple in colour and produce bright yellow pollen.

After fertilisation, stamens, petals and sepals fall down, leaving a head of a cluster of green achenes which grow up to 3-4mm each. Achenes are ovoid with a tapering and somehow darker tip, referred to as a beak. When ripe, these single-seeded fruits fall to the ground without special dispersal mechanism.

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