''Prangos ferulacea'', known in Italy as common basilisk (''basilisco comune'') is a perennial herbaceous plant present in the

Mediterranean Basin In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin (; also known as the Mediterranean Region or sometimes Mediterranea) is the region of lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have mostly a Mediterranean climate, with mild to cool, rainy winters and w ...

, Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, and the Caucasus.

Description

Herbaceous plant 60–150 cm tall, stem has a diameter of 1-2 cm at the base. Its

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are glabrous and light green, broadly ovate to ovate-triangular or oblong-elliptic and repeatedly pinnate. Its

basal leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

have up to 50-80 cm long petioles, at the base they are divided into 3

lobes Lobe may refer to: People with the name * Lobe (surname) Science and healthcare * Lobe (anatomy) * Lobe, a large-scale structure of a radio galaxy * Glacial lobe, a lobe-shaped glacier * Lobation, a characteristic of the nucleus of certain ...

, each 4-5 times pinnate. Its terminal lobes are linear, lanceolate or almost filiform, with 1 vein, at the apex they are shortly pointed. The lower stem leaves are shorter-stalked and the uppermost are sessile, much smaller and less dissected, with sheaths enclosing the stem. The complex umbels are about 15 cm in diameter, with 6-18 main rays, at the base with a sheath of linear-lanceolate and membranous leaves. Awns are about 1 cm wide. Its petals are about 1 mm long, obovate or elliptic. The fruits are 10-25 mm long, about 10 mm wide, ovoid to elliptical, slightly laterally flattened. Blooms in May-June and bears fruit in June - August. It is pollinated by insects and propagated by seeds.

Distribution

The species is distributed in Italy and the island of Sicily, Romania, Bulgaria, the Caucasus, Turkey, Armenia and Iran. In Bulgaria, it is found along the Black Sea coast - Medni Rid and Maslen nos, as well as on , up to about 300 m above sea level. It is an endangered species in Bulgaria, included in the and in the . In northern Sicily it grows on limestone in association with endangered fungus ''

Pleurotus nebrodensis ''Pleurotus nebrodensis'', commonly known as "fungus of Basil" or " macchia carduncieddu(?)", is a fungus that was declared by the IUCN as critically endangered in 2006. This fungus only grows on limestone in northern Sicily in association w ...

.''

References

{{taxonbar, from1=Q15590366, from2=Q3649373 Apioideae Flora of Armenia Flora of Bulgaria Flora of Iran Flora of Italy Flora of Romania Flora of Turkey Plants described in 1762