Close-up of Iberis gibraltarica flowers
The collective common name for species in Iberis is candytuft. With a name like that, you might expect plants like today’s Gibraltar candytuft to be sweetly-scented.
Alas, no; there is little discernible scent. As the Oxford English Dictionary notes, the “candy” portion of the name is:
Early 17th Century: from Candy (obsolete form of Candia, former name of Crete)
With the name reference to Crete as well as the Iberian Peninsula, it is not surprising that Iberis spp. are native to areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Estimated number of species in the genus range from 30 to 50 depending on the reference at-hand. According to Kew, Iberis gibraltarica is native mostly to northern Africa, with the only European population occurring in Gibraltar. USDA GRIN’s page on the species, however, suggests Gibraltar candytuft is native only to Morocco and Spain–no Gibraltar! Whether that is an oversight or not, the species does exceptionally well in crevices of north-facing rocks on the island of Gibraltar. It is also Gibraltar’s national flower.
The genus contains both annuals and perennials, with perennial species being subshrubs (stems are woody at the base). Iberis gibraltarica is one of the perennial species, with individual stems reaching a height of 30cm (12inches).
Candytufts have a symbolic meaning in the language of flowers. If given a bouquet of these, indifference is implied. Perhaps another common name could be the “whatever flower”. However, that symbolism is inappropriate for the monophagous butterfly Euchloe tagis; its larvae only use species of Iberis to feed upon.
Since I know some will ask for photos of the whole plant, here is a throwaway picture I took with the label. For those with a particularly sharp eye, you may notice that our UBC accession number differs on the label than what I’ve posted above; we’ve switched numbering systems and new labels are being generated for all plants in the garden.
A really interesting write-up on a common plant – the genesis of the name, the meaning of the plant. Fun stuff! And, I think the
close up photo might belie the “whatever flower” tag.
“I am so indifferent that I picked these flowers for you”. That would be the best garden nerd insult!!
Your close up is fantastic. It just keeps going and going as one scrolls down. Would make a beautiful wallpaper pattern.
I really enjoy my daily dose of Botany
I second Brynn Allen’s comment – great picture!
Love seeing common plants. We all have some of them and treat them with indifference because of their ordinariness. Good wake up call!