Family |
Sapindaceae
Acer hyrcanum subsp. tauricola
(Boiss. & Balansa) Yalt.
Acer hyrcanum subsp. tauricolum (Boiss. & Balansa) Yalt
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, p. 473, Pl. CC nº 1; 1966)
Synonymy : Acer tauricolum Boiss. & Bal.
Life‑form & habit : Medium‑sized, deciduous maple, usually 5 – 6 m tall, forming a rounded crown; young branchlets slender.
Leaves : Base cordate or truncate; blade 2 – 10 cm wide, glaucous and variably puberulent beneath; normally 5 lobes, each lobe further divided into 2 – 3 acute lobules.
Inflorescence : Slender, pendulous racemes; flowers borne on long, delicate pedicels.
Flowers : Yellow‑green, polygamous; open in early spring with or just before the foliage.
Fruit (samaras) : Nutlets not flattened; wings slightly divergent, forming a narrow angle.
Flowering period : Spring.
Habitat : Mixed montane woodlands, chiefly on limestone or dolomitic substrates.
Elevation : About 1 200 – 1 800 m a.s.l.
Native range : Endemic to Lebanon and neighbouring western Syria; recorded from the cedar forests of Barouk, ‘Aïn Zehalta, Qamis, Jabal Jaj, Jabal Sannine, Sir ed‑Dinné, Hadeth Cedars, Ehden forest, Qalaʿat Arrouba, Jabal Mattai and Slenfé.