Dittrichia orientalis Brullo & De Marco, syn of subsp. angustifolia
Dittrichia maritima Brullo & De Marco, syn of subsp. maritima
Dittrichia revoluta (Hoffmanns. & Link) Brullo & De Marco, syn of subsp. revoluta
Inula prostrata Rothm., syn of subsp. revoluta
Inula revoluta Hoffmanns. & Link, syn of subsp. revoluta
Pulicaria revoluta (Hoffmanns. & Link) Nyman, syn of subsp. revoluta
Dittrichia viscosa, also known as false yellowhead,[2]woody fleabane,[3]sticky fleabane and yellow fleabane, is a
flowering plant in the
daisy family.
Dittrichia viscosa is a highly branching
perennial common throughout the
Mediterranean Basin. It has long, narrow leaves that are pointed at both ends and have teeth along the edges and
glandular hairs on the surfaces. One plant can produce many yellow
flower heads each with as many as 16
ray florets and 44
disc florets.[4]
Originally, the species was found mainly in dry riverbeds and abandoned fields up to a 1500 m (5000 feet) elevation. Nowadays it is quite common in roadsides and
ruderal habitats, even in urban areas. It is considered an
invasive species in
Australia.[5] The false yellowhead is a tough plant, very resistant to adverse conditions and
degraded environments. It is important as food for the caterpillars of certain butterflies and moths, like Iolana iolas. The
galls of the plants also are habitat for Myopites stylatus and Myopites inulaedyssentericae, both predators on the
olive fly, which may be cause for its name in Catalán: Olivarda.[6]
Despite the fresh-looking green color of its leaves and its attractive
inflorescence,[7] this plant is sticky and has a certain smell that most people find unpleasant. It contains an
essential oil[8] and has been used in
traditional medicine since ancient times, especially in the
Levant, as an
astringent.[9]
In
Elba Island and
Corsica it is now used by residents and tourists to heal stings from
jellyfish, bees and wasps pressing fresh leaves on the skin with quick results. It is called in local dialect pescida.
A yellow dye substance has, since ancient times, been produced from its roots.[10]
It is an important plant in
Catalan tradition, often mentioned in
adages and
proverbs. One adage says that: "No vos 'nemoreu, amor,de cap fadrina gallarda que és com la flor d'olivarda molt guapa, i dolenta d'olor." [My dear one, don't fall in love with any woman who only has good looks, she is like a false yellowhead flower: beautiful, but full of stench.]
^USDA, NRCS (n.d.).
"Dittrichia viscosa". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
^Ḳrispil, Nissim (1985). A Bag of Plants (The Useful Plants of Israel) (in Hebrew). Vol. 3 (Ṭ.-M.). Jerusalem: Cana Publishing House Ltd. pp. 359–363.
ISBN965-264-011-5.
OCLC959573975., s.v. Inula viscosa; syn. Dittrichia viscosa