Description
This has miniature, deep golden-yellow, highly-scented flowers held on straight tubes (not curved as in fernandesii and gaditanus) with a wide, lobed, shallow cup which is often quite deeply cleft and starry in appearance. Though usually cited as being of uniform colouring I am of the opinion that perhaps the cup is of a very slightly darker yellow. The flowers are made very early in the year often at the start of February.
It grows outside in south-facing raised beds out in the garden here and it perfumes the adjacent area on a warm still day. It also does very well in plunged pots under alpine glass, but it needs good feeding to retain size in pots and not too severe a summer rest.
Raised from wild Portuguese seed found very close to the locus classicus in the Algarve and true to name. I mention this as both hybrid and mis-identified plants trade under the name, perhaps forgivably so as this is a very difficult taxonomic group.
