Chrozophora tinctoria (L.) Raf.

Spice Detail fruit Fruit In the field

Family: EUPHORBIACEAE

Genus: Chrozophora

Catalan common name: Gira-sol. Mira-sol. Tornassol.

Spanish common name: Cencila. Cendía. Cenizo tornasol. Girasol. Tornasol.

Province distribution: Alacant. Balearic Islands. Barcelona. Castelló. Girona. Tarragona. València.

Distribution in the islands: Mallorca. Menorca. Ibiza.

General distribution (Phytogeography): Mediterranean

IUCN Category: LCLeast concern

Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Life-forms: Terophyte.

Habitats: Cultivated fields, path and road sides, disturbed zones. Path and road sides.

Characteristics: A herb, with greyish leaves with a more or less triangular outline, which does not reach more than 40 cm in height. It can be easily found during the summer which is when it grows, then it stands out among the nearby vegetation; from afar it can be confused with Heliotropium europaeum, which has a similar biological cycle, but from near they are not similar at all, except for their greyish colour. The flowers are small and not clearly visible, there are male and female ones; the fruits are quite characteristic, they are capsular, with three cocci, like in all the euphorbiaceae, all covered with warts.