Atropa baetica

Atropa baetica is one of Europe's rarest wildflowers.Atlas y Libro Rojo de la Flora Vascular de Espana A close relative of the infamous deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna) its specific name derives from that of the Roman province of Hispania Baetica, while its common name refers to the Spanish region of Andalucía – both designating the area in the south of Spain where it is most frequently encountered.Flora Europaea, Tutin T.G., Heywood V.H. and Burgess N.A. pub. Cambridge University Press 2010 It is an attractive, perennial herbaceous plant bearing infundibuliform (i.e. funnel-shaped), yellow or greenish flowers and shiny, black berries. Like the other three (generally accepted) species of Atropa, it is an extremely poisonous plant, containing a variety of tropane alkaloids with anticholinergic, deliriant, antispasmodic and mydriatic properties. Although most populations of the plant are to be found in Spain, it is not wholly confined to the Iberian Peninsula of Europe, occurring also in certain localities in MoroccoJahandiez, Émile and Maire, René. Avec la collaboration de Battandier J.A., Ducellier, L., Emberger, L., & Font-Quer, P. Catalogue des Plantes du Maroc (Spermatophytes et Pteridophytes) Tome troisiéme: Dicotylédones et Supplément aux volumes I et II 1934 p.659Two hitherto unpublished documents by Prof. Font i Quer. N.B. second re. Solanaceae and detailed account of genus Atropa) Collectanea Botanica (Barcelona) 26, 2003 pps.16-17 (e.g. the Talassemtane National Park) and Algeria in the Atlas Mountains (Rif, Tell Atlas and Middle Atlas ranges) of North Africa. The Rif and the Baetic System, which face each other across the Alboran Sea (which includes the Strait of Gibraltar), together constitute one of the finest of the Mediterranean biodiversity hotspots – rich in endemic species, of which Atropa baetica is a notable example. (For more on Ibero-Maghrebi, floral biodiversity (featuring what, in Spanish are termed 'Iberoafricanismos') see Cartagena, Spain, section 'Environment' subsection 'Flora').

No narrative description available for this taxon yet.