Armeria montiberica García Cardo, Fabado & Mateo
Family: PLUMBAGINACEAE
Genus: Armeria
Catalan common name: Gasó montiberic.
Spanish common name: Gazón montiberico.
Province distribution: València.
General distribution (Phytogeography): Mediterranean (Iberian)
Plants protected by law: País Valencià Catalogue.
IUCN Category: Not evaluated
Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Life-forms: Hemicryptophyte.
Habitats: Meso-xerophyll mountain fields. Perennial grasslands on sandy soils derived from the decalcification of Jurassic and Cretaceous limestones, often in areas subject to waterlogging and winter cryoturbation.
Characteristics: Perennial and tuft-forming plant. All leaves are arranged in a basal rosette, with finely hairy margins: the inner ones are linear-filiform and erect, while the outer ones are broader, flat, and fleshy, often turning reddish in winter. From the rosette emerge a few short flowering stems (2.5-11 cm), strongly arched from the base, ending in globose inflorescences surrounded by bracts (involucre). Flowers are 6-7 mm long, with petals fused into a tube, pale pink in colour.
Observations: For decades, it was misidentified as Armeria trachyphylla Lange, and is still listed as such in the Valencian Catalogue of Threatened Plant Species. However, recent studies have shown that the true A. trachyphylla is restricted to siliceous sand habitats in the Serranía de Cuenca. Most populations formerly placed under this name are now assigned to A. montiberica, a species endemic to the eastern Iberian System.