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Taxon:  Scorpiurus muricatus L.



Summary
Genus:
Scorpiurus
Family:
Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae)
Subfamily:
Faboideae
Tribe:
Loteae
Nomen number:
33405
Place of publication:
Sp. pl. 2:745. 1753 "muricata"
Verified:
10/03/1989 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
222 (217  active, 163  available) in Australian Pastures Genebank.  (Map it)
Other conspecific taxa
Scorpiurus muricatus L. var. muricatus (20 active accession[s])
Scorpiurus muricatus L. var. subvillosus (L.) Lam. (0 active accession[s])
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Scorpiurus laevigatus Lindl.
Scorpiurus sulcatus L.
No images


Reference(s)
  1. Aldén, B., S. Ryman & M. Hjertson. Våra kulturväxters namn - ursprung och användning. Formas, Stockholm (Handbook on Swedish cultivated and utility plants, their names and origin). 2009
  2. Ali, S. I. & S. M. H. Jafri, eds. Flora of Libya. 1976-
  3. Botanical Society of the British Isles. BSBI taxon database (on-line resource).
  4. Davis, P. H., ed. Flora of Turkey and the east Aegean islands. 1965-1988
  5. Dominguez, E. & E. F. Galiano. 1974. Revisión del género Scorpiurus L. 2. Parte sistematica. Lagascalia 4:267.
  6. Hely, F. W. & I. Ofer. 1972. Nodulation and frequencies of wild leguminous species in the northern Negev region of Israel. Austral. J. Agric. Res. 23:267-284.
  7. Heyn, C. C. & V. Raviv. 1966. Experimental taxonomie studies in the genus Scorpiurus (Papilionaceae). Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 93:259-267.
  8. Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
  9. Jordanov, D. et al., eds. Flora na narodna republika Balgarija. 1963-1982
  10. Kunkel, G. Plants for human consumption. 1984
  11. Lock, J. M. Legumes of Africa: a checklist. 1989
  12. Pignatti, S. Flora d'Italia. 1982
  13. Pottier-Alapetite, G. Flore de la Tunisie: Angiospermes-Dicotyledones. 1979-1981
  14. Smythies, B. E. Flora of Spain and the Balearic Islands: checklist of vascular plants. Englera 3:1-882. 1984-1986
  15. Thulin, M. Leguminosae of Ethiopia. Opera Bot. 68:1-223. 1983
  16. Townsend, C. C. & E. Guest. Flora of Iraq. 1966-
  17. Tutin, T. G. et al., eds. Flora europaea. 1964-1980
Common names
English
caterpillar-plant –
scorpion-plant –
Swedish
skorpionärt –
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNote
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaEthiopia  
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaAlgeria  
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaEgypt  
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaLibya  
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaMorocco  
1NativeAfricaNorthern AfricaTunisia  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaCyprus  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaIran  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaIraq  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaIsrael  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaJordan  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaLebanon  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaSyria  
1NativeAsia-TemperateWestern AsiaTurkey  
1NativeEuropeEast EuropeUkraineKrym 
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeAlbania  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeBulgaria  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeFormer Yugoslavia  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeGreece  
1NativeEuropeSoutheastern EuropeItaly  
1NativeEuropeSouthwestern EuropeFrance  
1NativeEuropeSouthwestern EuropePortugal  
1NativeEuropeSouthwestern EuropeSpain  
Native
Africa
  • NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ethiopia
  • NORTHERN AFRICA: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia
Asia-Temperate
  • WESTERN ASIA: Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey
Europe
  • EAST EUROPE: Ukraine [Krym]
  • SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Former Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy
  • SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: Spain, France, Portugal
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2025. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://apg.pir.sa.gov.au/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=33405. Accessed 19 July 2025.


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