Family |
Brassicaceae
Aethionema capitatum
Boiss. & Balansa
Aethionema capitatum Boiss. & Bal.
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, Pl. XXXIV nº 7–8; 1966)
Life‑form & habit : Perennial sub‑shrub with numerous stems that trail or lie along the ground, then rise from a tortuous, woody rhizome; stems overall 10 – 40 cm long, softly pubescent.
Leaves : Short, linear‑elongate to strictly linear, densely crowded along the stems almost up to the inflorescences; they fall early as fruiting begins.
Inflorescence & flowers : Bright‑pink flowers packed into very dense, head‑like racemes; coloured, obtuse sepals shed early; petals 3 – 4 mm long, blunt; the longer stamens bear filaments briefly winged near the base.
Fruit : After anthesis the heads persist as compact clusters of silicles; each silicle is flat, orbicular and very broadly winged—often flushed purple—with a shallow notch that lengthens and narrows as it matures; style extremely short.
Flowering period : June – July.
Habitat & elevation : Montane slopes, especially on sandstone outcrops.
Native range : Lebanon (sandstone between Jabal Sannine and Jabal Kneissé near the Col de Zahlé) and western Syria (Slenfé, Signal de Rouadi, Jabal Mattai, Jaoubat Bourghal); reported more widely in the mountains of southern Turkey.