Daphne sericea is a shrubby species of flowering plant in the genusDaphne with purple flowers. It was described by Martin Vahl.[1]Daphne collina has been treated as a separate species, but is considered to be a cultivar or group of cultivars of D. sericea. It is a parent, with Daphne caucasica, of the popular hybrid garden plant Daphne × transatlantica.
Description
Daphne sericea usually grows as a shrub to a height of 30 to 40 cm, but can sometimes grow taller. Its leaves are 2 to 4 cm in length. Fragrant purple flowers are produced in late spring to early summer in clusters of 5 to 15. Each flower is around 8 mm long. Fertilized flowers produce fleshy fruits, orange-red to orange-brown in colour.[2] Forms from southern Italy have been called Daphne collina,[2]Daphne sericea 'Collina'[3] and Daphne sericea Collina Group.[4] They are more compact than forms from other parts of the species' range, but otherwise similar.[2]
Daphne sericea is found in southern Italy, Sicily, Crete, Syria and the Caucasus. It typically grows on rocky slopes and in open pinewoods, at elevations up to 1800 m.[2]
Daphne sericea subsp. sericea – includes D. sericea 'Collina'; up to 1 m tall; found around the Mediterranean
Daphne sericea subsp. circassica (Woronow ex Pobed.) Halda – shorter, with a longer flower tube; from the west Caucasus
Daphne sericea subsp. pseudosericea (Pobed.) Halda – similar to subsp. circassica, but with larger flowers and less visible anthers; from the west Transcaucasus
