Leontice leontopetalum, commonly known as leontice, lion's foot, lion's turnip, and lion's leaf, is a perennial geophyte having a wide distribution, and growing primarily in semi-desert regions. The name "lion's foot" is derived from the Greek λεοντοπέταλη [= "lioness"] in reference to a fancied resemblance between the shape of the leaves and the pads of a lioness’s paw.
Description
Leontice leontopetalum is a perennial plant growing to a height of 15–60 cm. and bearing a profuse yellow inflorescence shaped like a ball or a pyramid.[2] Its flowers bloom between February and April, usually after the winter rains. The plant contains saponins in all its parts. The tuberous root of the plant grows deep in the earth and resembles a large potato.[3] Some scholars have noted that the plant's tuber naturally lies deep in the soil, as much as 50 cm, affording protection from the Arab plough.[2]
The leaves of leontice are concentrated at the base of the plant, rising-up directly from the tuberous root, and are folded into large leaflets covered with a wax-like covering. The flowers are wide open and are made up of 6 yellow sepals that look like petals. The red swollen fruits are spread far and wide by the dry inflorescence that detaches from the ground and is blown by the wind
Leontice is a group of perennial, tuberous herbs in the Berberidaceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753
Photos Potamia 29/12/2014 by George Konstantinou
Photos Potamia 29/12/2014 by George Konstantinou
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