Centaurea hyalolepis Boiss. - Cyprus

Centaurea hyalolepis is a species of plants in the family Asteraceae

Photos Geri 13/5/2015 by George Konstantinou

Centaurea benedicta (L.) L. - Cyprus

The native range of this species is Europe to Xinjiang. It is an annual and grows primarily in the temperate biome.

Centaure is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding regions are particularly species-rich. In the western United States, yellow starthistles are an invasive species. Around the year 1850, seeds from the plant had arrived to the state of California. It is believed that those seeds came from South America.

Photos Geri 28/2/2015 by George Konstantinou

Centaurea aegialophila Wagenitz - Βρουτσίν του παρπέρη - Cyprus

Centaurea  is a genus of between 350 and 600 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding regions are particularly species-rich. Common names for this genus are centaury, centory, starthistles, knapweeds, centaureas and the more ambiguous "bluets"; a vernacular name used for these plants in parts of England is "loggerheads" (Common Knapweed). The Plectocephalus group – possibly a distinct genus – is known as basketflowers. "Cornflowers" is used for a few species, but that term more often specifically means C. cyanus (sometimes also called "Basket Flower"). The common name "centaury" is sometimes used, although this also refers to the unrelated plant genus Centaurium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Mantria 18/4/2015 by George Konstantinou

Carthamus tenuis subsp. foliosus Hanelt - Cyprus

The genus Carthamus, the distaff thistles, includes plants in the thistle family. The group is native to Europe, North Africa, and parts of Asia

Photos Geri 16/5/2015 by George Konstantinou

Woolly distaff thistle, Downy safflower or Saffron thistle - Carthamus lanatus subsp. baeticus (Boiss. & Reut.) Nyman - Cyprus

Carthamus lanatus is a species of thistle known as woolly distaff thistle, downy safflower or saffron thistle. It is closely related to safflower, which is in the same genus. This annual plant is a native of the Mediterranean Basin, but it is familiar in other places where it was introduced and has become a noxious weed, such as in parts of North America and southern Australia  with similar climates. This is a spiny, glandular, woolly plant, which often looks like it is covered in spiderweb due to its fine tangled fibers. It has a pale stem which may reach a meter in height, and rigid, pointed, very spiny leaves. The flower head has many long, sharp phyllaries that can be up to several centimeters long, and often bend backwards (recurved). The disc florets are bright yellow. One plant can produce many stems which mat together due to their spininess and form a small thicket. The fruit is an achene about half a centimeter long with many rigid pappus scales.

In Australia the plant is commonly regarded as a pasture weed because: it competes with desired plants such as pasture or crops, seeds and bracts become embedded in wool which results in lower returns to farmers, and because dense infestations restrict stock access and are difficult to walk through. Interestingly it is generally not considered a weed in much of Europe

Seed germination is stimulated by red light. This means that germination is most likely in areas with little vegetation or pasture cover, e.g. when an area has been overgrazed. Seeds also require specific temperature cues and water, which means that most seeds germinate in Autumn (Fall). There are more C. lanatus seeds in the soil in Australian pastures than in similar French pastures, probably because there are more seed predators capable of removing seeds of this size in France than in Australia. Many C. lanatus seeds are dormant (will not germinate, even in ideal conditions), and seedbanks decrease by approximately 70-74% per year if no seed is added

This plant can be controlled using a range of herbicides. Several biological control options have been investigated for Australia, including classical biological control, although finding an insect or fungus that will not also attach safflower has proven difficult. A rosette-feeding fly Botanophila turcica shows some promise. The potential for using pathogens already present in Australia has also been investigated.

In pastures, good pasture cover in Autumn will reduce germination, suggesting that pastures should be managed to reduce grazing pressure over summer increase the cover from summer-growing perennial grasses. Population models suggest that strategic grazing may be one of the most effective long-term control option for infested pastures
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Geri 13/5/2015 by George Konstantinou

Chrysotoxum intermedium Walker, 1851 - Cyprus

Chrysotoxum intermedium  is a species of hoverfly. It is found in southern mainland Europe. The larvae are thought to feed on root aphids.

Photos Geri 1/3/2016 by George Konstantinou

Geranium rotundifolium L. - Cyprus

Geranium is a genus of 422 species of flowering annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as the cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, but mostly in the eastern part of the Mediterranean region. The long, palmately cleft leaves are broadly circular in form. The flowers have five petals and are coloured white, pink, purple or blue, often with distinctive veining. Geraniums will grow in any soil as long as it is not waterlogged. Propagation is by semiripe cuttings in summer, by seed, or by division in autumn or spring.

The genus name is derived from the Greek γέρανος (géranos) or γερανός (geranós) ‘crane’. The English name ‘cranesbill’ derives from the appearance of the fruit capsule of some of the species. Species in the Geranium genus have a distinctive mechanism for seed dispersal. This consists of a beak-like column which springs open when ripe and casts the seeds some distance. The fruit capsule consists of five cells, each containing one seed, joined to a column produced from the centre of the old flower. The common name ‘cranesbill’ comes from the shape of the unsprung column, which in some species is long and looks like the bill of a crane. However, many species in this genus do not have a long beak-like column.


Geraniums are eaten by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including brown-tail and mouse moth.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Geri 1/3/2016 by George Konstantinou

Apogon imberbis (Linnaeus, 1758) - Cyprus

Apogon imberbis, commonly known as cardinalfish or king of the mullets, is a species in the family of Apogonidae (cardinalfishes). It is widely distributed in the Mediterranean and along the eastern Atlantic coast from Portugal to Gulf of Guinea. These fishes can grow up to 15 cm long and prefer coral reefs from 10 m to 200 m in depth.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Underwater photos 27.02.2016 at Akrotiri by Kostas Aristeidou


Underwater photo by Costas Constantinou

Nigella nigellastrum (L.) Willk. - Cyprus

Nigella is a genus of 18 species of annual plants in the family Ranunculaceae, native to Southern Europe, North Africa, South Asia, Southwest Asia and Middle East. Common names applied to members of this genus are nigella, devil-in-a-bush or love-in-a-mist.

The species grow to 20–90 cm (8–35 in) tall, with finely divided leaves; the leaf segments are narrowly linear to threadlike. The flowers are white, yellow, pink, pale blue or pale purple, with five to ten petals. The fruit is a capsule composed of several united follicles, each containing numerous seeds; in some species (e.g. Nigella damascena), the capsule is large and inflated.. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Geri 13/5/2015 by George Konstantinou

Nigella fumariifolia Kotschy - Cyprus

Nigella is a genus of 18 species of annual plants in the family Ranunculaceae, native to Southern Europe, North Africa, South Asia, Southwest Asia and Middle East. Common names applied to members of this genus are nigella, devil-in-a-bush or love-in-a-mist.

The species grow to 20–90 cm (8–35 in) tall, with finely divided leaves; the leaf segments are narrowly linear to threadlike. The flowers are white, yellow, pink, pale blue or pale purple, with five to ten petals. The fruit is a capsule composed of several united follicles, each containing numerous seeds; in some species (e.g. Nigella damascena), the capsule is large and inflated. .From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos Rizokarpaso 2/5/2015 by George Konstantinou