Erodium oreophilum Quezel
Erodium oreophilum is an annual subcaulescent herb; root fleshy.
Leaves: Leaves small, entire, ovate, 2-2.5 x 1-1.2 cm in rosettes, adpressed or felted hairy.
Inflorescence: Flowering stem short or none (higher altitudes) bearing umbels of pink flowers; flowers pale pink, unspotted, petals slightly longer than the sepals.
Fruit: Rostrum 18-24 mm; foveole eglandular, with 1 furrow beneath; and whose foveole surface is not smooth; seed cotyledons entire, slightly notched. 2n=20
Distribution: endemic to Sahara; Tibesti in Chad, Jebel Marra & Kohor / Emi Koussi in Soudan; in basaltic soils at 2200-3300m.
Erodium oreophilum is quite distinct from another Saharan species: Erodium garamantum which grows in the Hoggar sands and has mericarps with glandular foveoles, longer rostrums (25-40 mm, not 20-25 mm) and well-developed stems.
