Tordylium apulum, commonly known as the Mediterranean Hartwort, is an annual forb

Forb

A forb is a herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid . The term is used in biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory.-Etymology:...

 or herb

Herb

Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...

. It is classified within the family Apiaceae

Apiaceae

The Apiaceae , commonly known as carrot or parsley family, is a group of mostly aromatic plants with hollow stems. The family is large, with more than 3,700 species spread across 434 genera, it is the sixteenth largest family of flowering plants...

, the carrot family. It is located in a range from Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 to west Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, but was introduced to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is now found only in Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

.

Description

The Mediterranean Hartwort usually grows to 20-50 centimeters in height. It has an erect stem that is branched with soft, spreading hairs at the base, and scattered hairs along the rest of the stem. The leaves are softly hairy and pinnate, with the lower leaves being oval with toothed segments, and the upper leaves having linear segments. It has 2-8 primary rays. The marginal flowers each have 1 white petal, enlarged, and uniformly deeply 2-lobed. The bracts and bracteoles are linear long-pointed with spreading hairs. The fruit is orbicular and flattened, and usually is 5-8 millimeters in size.

Habitat

The Hartwort is located in cultivated beds, waste land, and waysides. The plant prefers sandy, loamy and clay soils. Hartworts also prefer acid, neutral and basic soils. It cannot grow in the shade.

Reproduction

The flowers are hermaphrodite and are pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile.

Uses

The hartwort does have edible leaves. In Italy it is used as a condiment. The essential oil composition of aerial parts of Tordylium apulum L. from Italy was analyzed. Sixty-seven compounds were identified representing 96.5% of the oil. The most abundant compounds were (E)-β-ocimene

Ocimene

Ocimene refers to several isomeric hydrocarbons. The ocimenes are monoterpenes found within a variety of plants and fruits. α-Ocimene and the two β-ocimenes differ in the position of the isolated double bond: it is terminal in the alpha isomer. α-Ocimene is 3,7-dimethyl-1,3,7-octatriene. ...

 (17.3), α-humulene

Humulene

Humulene, also known as α-humulene or α-caryophyllene, is a naturally occurring monocyclic sesquiterpene, which is a terpenoid consisting of 3 isoprene units. It is found in the essential oils of Humulus lupulus from which it derives its name. It is an isomer of β-caryophyllene, and the two are...

(11.4%) and octyl octanoate (8.8%). Essential oil from aerial parts of T. apulum from Greece was reported to have α-humulene (28.7%) and octyl hexanoate (11.7%) as the main constituents. There are no known medicinal uses for this plant.