Hippocrepis balearica Jacq. subsp. balearica

Spice Detail flower In the field In the field 2

Family: LEGUMINOSAE

Genus: Hippocrepis

Catalan common name: Herba de cabell d'indi. Violeta de penyal.

Province distribution: Balearic Islands.

Distribution in the islands: Mallorca. Menorca. Cabrera. Dragonera.

General distribution (Phytogeography): Mediterranean (Balearic)

IUCN Category: LCLeast concern

Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Life-forms: Nanophanerophyte.

Habitats: Rock crevices and cliff faces. Rock creviceses of torrents and mountains.

Characteristics: The rocky violet is one of the better known endemisms. The aroma of its flowers is very pleasant and, despite its name, the flowers are yellow. It lives in shady crevices in rocky wall faces in Mallorca, Menora and Cabrera, together with the other numerous endemisms that colonise this habitat. It is a shrub with rounded shapes, which has compound leaves with numerous leaflets, one of which is terminal. The pods have the typical shape of the genus: each seed occupies a strangulation of the fruit. It flowers early in spring.