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| Online Flora of the Maltese Islands by Stephen Mifsud |
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Bifora testiculata (Testiculate False Foxglove) |
Bifora testiculata (APIACEAE.)
Images for this profile are taken from the Maltese Islands after year 2000.
Website launch: Oct-2002
Taxonomic update: Aug-2026
Code update: Jul-2026 |
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| Nomenclature and General Information |
Species name : |
Bifora testiculata(L.) Spreng.
Published in J.J.Roemer & J.A.Schultes, Syst. Veg., ed. 15[bis]. 6: 448 (1820) |
Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.) |
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Plant Family : |
Apiaceae Lindl. (The Carrot or Celery Family) Previously included in Umbelliferea
37 species from the Apiaceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands. | English name(s) : | Testiculate False Foxglove, Carrot Weed, European bishop |
Maltese name(s) : |
Sorm il-patri, Bumnejħer |
Status for Malta : |
Casual or accidental alien. Species that was introduced in Malta rather recently and normally it is short-lived
or resticted to small populations for a short time, without becoming widespread or invasive. |
Frequency : |
Very Common Common Frequent Scarce Rare Very rare Extinct |
Growth form : |
Germination type [info]: Dicotyledon
Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: Hemicryptophyte ( perennial herbaceous plants with vegetative buds close to the ground ) |
Legal Protection : |
Not legally protected till the last update of this website (22/Aug/2025) |
Red List (1989) : |
Threatened status for the Maltese Islands and has been listed in the Red Data Book (1st ed.) |
Flowering Time : |
April – May |
Colour of Flowers: |
White |
Toxicity: |
Not particularly toxic |
Name Derivation : |
Bifora: ()
testiculata: ()
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Planting in rural areas : |
Can be planted in rural areas according to ERA Guidelines |
Remarks : |
Recorded in the past (19th C.) and not observed again since then. If you believe you have encountered this species in the wild in Malta, please contact us at info@maltawildplants.com with as many details as possible, ideally including photographs. |
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Description, Habitat and Distribution | |
Botanical Description |
Glabrous annual 20-40 cm. Stem usually freely branched. Leaves 1- to 2-pinnate, oblong in outline; lobes of upper leaves linear, flat, entire or lobed. Rays up to 10 mm, 1-3(-5). Bracts 0 or 1; bracteoles 2-3, subulate. Petals of all flowers nearly equal. Fruit 2·5-3·5 × 4·5-7 mm, rugose, shortly beaked; style not more than 0·2 mm, scarcely as long as stylopodium. | |
Habitat in Europe |
Dry open habitats (fallow fields, steppe, etc.)
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Preferred habitat in Malta |
Garigue, rocky valley sides and abandoned fields
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Chromosome number(s) |
2n=14 | |
Distributional range |
S. Europe
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Native region outside Europe |
S. Europe to Iran and the Arabian Peninsula
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Distributional maps from various sources |
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Occurrences in Europe
(from Flora Europaea till 1993) |
Albania, the Balaeric Islands, Corse, Crete, France (incl. Monaco and Channel Islands but excluding Corse), Greece, Spain (incl. Andorra but excl. the Balaerics), Italy (mainland, excl. Sicily and Sardinia), ex-Jugoslavia, Portugal, Sardinia, Sicily and/or Malta, Turkey (European part)
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Occurrences in Europe
(from Euro+Med Checklist till 2024)
Country codes
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AE(G) Ab(A) Ag Al Ar BH Bl(I M) Bu Cg †Co Cr Ct Cy Ga(F) Gr He Hs(S) Ir It Jo Le Li Lu Ma Mk Rf(CS) Sa Si(M S) Sl Sy Tn Tu(A E) [Ca aDa aGe aNo]
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| Links & Further literature
(0 papers) |
Google Web |
Google Images |
Google Scholar |
Research Gate |
Wikipedia |
JSTOR |
GBIF |
Med Checklist |
Cat. of Life |
EoL |
IPNI |
World Flora Online |
Plants of the World Online |
Vienna Virt. Herb. |
RBGE Herbarium |
KEW Herbarium |
MNHN |
Garden Database |
IUCN |
TROPICOS |
Kindly Email if there are papers and publications about local
studies or information about this species to be included in the list above.
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| Species Images (0 images) | |
No images of Bifora testiculata are available. If you can share your own images of this species with this website, please do so by using the image upload form below. Credits are given to the authors.
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Sales and Donations
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Sales of seeds of wild plant from Malta: Seeds of selected wild plant species may be available for academic studies, research purposes, or personal use. Please note that not all species can be supplied or exported. Availability is subject to seasonal seed production, stock levels, and applicable regulations, including Maltese legislation and CITES requirements where relevant. Protected and endemic species cannot be sold (at least without the relevant environmental permits).
How it works: First, submit a quotation request by completing the Online Quotation Form (link provided on the right side of this table). Once your request has been reviewed, you will receive confirmation regarding seed availability, export eligibility (where applicable), pricing, and any transport charges. Payments are accepted by Revolut, bank transfer (IBAN), or PayPal only; credit and debit card payments are not accepted.
Please note that local orders are currently not being accepted. Seek Maltese nurseries and NGOs for local orders.
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Online Quotation (Seeds)
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Buy Images: Purchase photographs from this extensive online collection of Maltese flora by Stephen Mifsud. Images are available at reasonable prices, with rates varying according to image size and resolution. Your purchase helps support the maintenance and development of this website. When placing an order, please note the image code displayed beneath each photograph on the corresponding species page, as this is required when completing the online order form. Images are normally supplied under a license agreement, with copyright retained by the author; however, the sale of copyright for exceptional images may be considered on request.
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Online Purchase (Images)
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| Contribute Information or Report Errors |
Use this form to submit additional information about this species or to report any inaccuracies on this webpage.
If the information you provide is sourced from a book, journal, website, or any other publication, rather then your own information or experience, then please include the relevant reference or web address whenever possible. Your email address will be used solely for internal communication and will not be shared. We greatly appreciate reports of: taxonomic updates; species misidentifications; incorrect or outdated information, broken links, technical website issues, or any additional information specific to the plant in this webpage.
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Atlas Flora Europaea
GBIF Distribution Map
WFO Distribution map
