Thymelaea velutina (Pourr. ex Camb.) Endl.

Spice Flower In the field

Family: THYMELAEACEAE

Genus: Thymelaea

Catalan common name: Pala marina. Peu de milà.

Province distribution: Balearic Islands.

Distribution in the islands: Mallorca. Menorca.

General distribution (Phytogeography): West Mediterranean

IUCN Category: LCLeast concern

Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Life-forms: Nanophanerophyte.

Habitats: Beaches and dunes, sandy soils. Xero-acanthic shrubs of the mountanous regions, and steppe-grasslands of Ampelodesmos mauritanica. Coastal sandy soils and mountains.

Characteristics: This tree has its leaves clustered at the branch apical, all of them enclosed; the young stems are covered with a dense pilosity that gives the plant a whitish grey colour, at times yellowish. Leaves are ovate and thick. Flowers at the end of winter and during the spring.