Anagyris is a small genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae (subfamily Faboideae), native to the Mediterranean Basin and Macaronesia. The genus was formally described by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum (1753).
Plants in the genus are deciduous shrubs or small trees growing to approximately 3 metres tall, typically with a distinctive unpleasant odour. The leaves are trifoliate with lanceolate-elliptic leaflets. Flowers are yellow, with the standard petal roughly half the length of the wings — an unusual proportion within the legume family. The fruit is a legume (pod) 80–150 mm long and 10–20 mm wide, containing dark seeds. Plants flower and set fruit between December and February, making them winter-flowering relative to most temperate legumes. The chromosome number is 2n = 18.
The genus contains two widely accepted species: Anagyris foetida L., widespread across the Mediterranean, and Anagyris latifolia Brouss. ex Willd., a critically rare species confined to Gran Canaria, considered near-extinct. Several additional names (A. cretica, A. chinensis, A. neapolitana, etc.) remain of uncertain taxonomic status.
Etymology
The genus name Anagyris derives from the Greek onógyros, which was latinised to anagyris by the ancient physicians Dioscorides and Pliny the Elder, where it referred to the malodorous shrub now known as Anagyris foetida. The species epithet foetida (Latin: stinking) echoes the same quality. The Spanish common name oro de risco ("cliff gold") alludes to the yellow flowers on rocky terrain.
Distribution
Anagyris is native to the Mediterranean region and Macaronesia (the Atlantic island groups including the Canary Islands, where A. latifolia is endemic to Gran Canaria). The genus occurs on rocky hillsides, scrubland, and garrigue habitats typical of the Mediterranean climate zone.
Conservation
Anagyris latifolia, the Canary Island species, is considered almost extinct and is restricted to Gran Canaria. The more widespread A. foetida is not globally threatened, though populations may face pressure from habitat loss around the Mediterranean basin.
