About Antirrhinum controversum Pau
Antirrhinum controversum Pau is a perennial herbaceous species in the snapdragon genus Antirrhinum, which belongs to the Plantaginaceae family. Overall, plants of this species grow in a subshrub form. They produce thick aerial stems that reach between 35 cm (14 in) and 150 cm (59 in) in height. Leaves mostly grow in an alternating arrangement along the stems. These leaves are lanceolate shaped, and follow the typical Antirrhinum color pattern: green on the upper leaf surface, and purple on the lower leaf surface. They measure between 6 mm (0.24 in) and 40 mm (1.6 in) long, and 0.5 mm (0.020 in) to 6 mm (0.24 in) wide. For Antirrhinum species, inflorescences develop at the tips of stems. Each inflorescence of A. controversum holds 10 to 40 densely packed flowers. Flowers attach to the stem via 1 mm (0.039 in) to 3 mm (0.12 in) long pedicels, and are arranged in an alternating pattern, held in an erect position. The full corolla (entire flower structure) measures 16 mm (0.63 in) to 24 mm (0.94 in) in diameter. Flowers are pale pink, with a white base to the tubular section that connects to the pedicel, and also have purple veins. In the species’s native range, its flowering and fruiting growth period runs from February to November. Fruiting produces oblong-ovoid capsules 6 mm (0.24 in) to 9 mm (0.35 in) long, and 4 mm to 5 mm (0.20 in) wide. These capsules have woody walls covered in glandular hairs that can grow up to 0.6 mm (0.024 in) long. The seeds are black and oblong-ovoid, measuring 0.6 mm (0.024 in) to 0.8 mm (0.031 in) long. Hybridization between Antirrhinum species is very common. Morphologically, standard A. controversum plants are very similar to typical A. australe plants, and natural hybridization between the two species makes distinguishing them even more difficult. The native range of Antirrhinum controversum covers southeastern and southern Spain, Portugal, and northern Morocco. This species grows preferentially in subtropical biomes, and is found natively at elevations between 20 m (66 ft) and 1,600 m (5,200 ft) above sea level.
