Spines or sausages? Two very different Moroccan species in the alphabetically challenged Zygophyllum
Apart from being close to last in any alphabetical list of plants, Zygophyllum zilloides is a species you need to travel to Morocco, or thereabouts, to see in the wild. It's described as a western Saharan endemic, which means the drier parts of Morocco (including what has been separated out until recently as 'Western Sahara'), Algeria and Mauritania. The genus Zygophyllum (in the family Zygophyllaceae), with more than 100 species, is far more widespread: from the broader Mediterranean region south into much of Africa, east through to northern China and the western side of the Americas. Mostly growing in arid or drier habitats, the species of Zygophyllum often - but not always - have paired 'leaflets' ( zygo = double, phyllum = leaf). Zygophyllum zilloides , which at times has been classified as Fagonia zilloides , has 'trifoliate' leaves - leaves divided into three leaflets - at the base of the plant, and unifoliate (undivided) leaves at the top. Altho...
