English: Curved fatwort.
Dutch: Omgebogen vetkruid.
Region: western and southern Europe, France, Spain to Romania, Bulgaria, Greece; west Asia, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon; Nnorth Africa, Algeria, Tunisia
Habitat: dry, moderately nutrient-rich, often slightly shaded and calcareous marl soil or rocky to stony places; shady places, forest, shrubbery edges, shaded walls and rocks; preferring fresh, nutrient and base rich, lime-deficient, neutral to acidic, humic, stony or sandy clay soil, above limestone bedrock, preferring siliceous rocks; moderately cold-hardy plant, tolerating temperatures to -15°c when; prefers moist, but well-drained, fairly fertile soil; prefers a sunny position; very drought tolerant; mountainous regions.
Ecology: often specially targeted by slugs; immune to the predations of rabbits.
Content: alkaloids, sedine, sedamine.
Use: medicine, cultivated for it; edible leaves and young blooming stems, bitter, acrid or peppery flavours.
BotanyHerb; bushy; annual; 10 to 40 cm tall.
Stem: solitary, much-branched, erect stem.
Leaves: flat; finely hairy; 3 cm long; opposite or in whorls of three or four; narrowing towards the top; lower leaves are inversely ovate and the upper ones are linear to wedge-shaped.
Inflorescence: blooming stems at the base are erect with glandular hairs at the top of the stem; elongated, tenuous, 20 cm long panicle.
Flowers: hermaphroditic; 1 cm long; with long-tipped, whitish to pale pink petals with dark red center veins; blooming June to August.
Pollination: by insects.
Fruit: tubular; 0.5 mm long.
Seeds: 0.2 mm wide.
Chromosomes number: 2n = 20.