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Warionia is a genus in the tribe Cichorieae within the family Asteraceae. The only known species is Warionia saharae, an endemic of Algeria and Morocco, and it is locally known in the Berber language as afessas, abessas or tazart n-îfiss. It is an aromatic, thistle-like shrub of ½–2 m high, that contains a white latex, and has fleshy, pinnately divided, wavy leaves. It is not thorny or prickly. The aggregate flower heads contain yellow disk florets. It flowers from April till June. Because Warionia is deviant in many respects from any other Asteraceae, different scholars have placed it hesitantly in the Cardueae, Gundelieae, Mutisieae, but now genetic analysis positions it as the sister group to all other Cichorieae.
The species can be grown from seed in free draining compost at 30 °C by day and 15 °C at night. It may grow to 1½ m in its first year, at which stage the stems become woody. In cultivation, whitefly may be a problem and when it is damp, mildew may occur on the leaves.
Warionia saharae is an endemic of Morocco between Tamanar, Ifni, Erfoud and Figuig, and of Algeria, in the Naâma Province and the Béni Ounif District. It grows on slopes of the High Atlas, Anti-Atlas and Saharian Atlas, along the coast of southern Morocco, and in the desert, on mafic and siliceous rock, at altitudes between sea level and 1300 m. At Ifni it was found growing together with Euphorbia echinus, E. obtusifolia and Senecio anteuphorbium. The species loses its leaves when seasonal water availability drops below a threshold in summer, but in cultivation it keeps its leaves as long as it is watered adequately. In the wild it occurs to be pest-free, except for browsing goats which can have a detrimental impact on it. Pollen matures before the styles are fertile and this makes the species dependent on cross-pollination. As individuals usually appear distant from each other and pollinating insects may be scarce, seed fertility may be low.
Warionia saharae is said to have healing properties due to the essential oils it contains. An infusion of the dried leaves is used against arthritis and epilepsy. Local healers use it to cure uterus infections. Local women use the plant as a perfume and "believe that the supernatural powers attributed to the plant make them more seductive".
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Warionia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
