Thymelaea hirsuta

Shrub of the Thymelaeaceae family, widespread throughout the western Mediterranean basin, from the Iberian and Catalan coasts to North Africa and the Near East. It colonizes open garrigues, coastal rockeries, maritime cliffs, and sandy or stony arid low-altitude terrains, often alongside other Mediterranean xerophytic shrubs.

It forms rounded and dense bushes, with numerous branches, arched to distinctly drooping, reaching 50 to 80 cm in height with a spread often greater. The leaves are very small, fleshy, tightly overlapping along the stems, bright green on top and whitish tomentose on the underside, which gives it its epithet.

The flowers are tiny, yellow, sessile, nestled in the leaf axils; they are easily overlooked but abundantly cover the branches. In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from February to May depending on latitude and exposure.

In cultivation under our climates, this species requires full sun, perfect drainage, and winter protection in regions with prolonged frosts. It does not tolerate stagnant moisture. Its dense and persistent foliage, bright green in all seasons, makes it a plant of character for Mediterranean dry gardens, but it remains little distributed outside its natural range.