Family |
Brassicaceae
Aethionema cordatum
(Desf.) Boiss.
Aethionema cordatum (Desf.) Boiss.
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, Pl. XXXV nº 2; 1966)
Life‑form & habit : Perennial, woody at the base, forming loose clumps 20 – 30 cm high; stems become markedly ligneous with age.
Leaves : Sessile, rigid, sub‑opposite to alternate; blades triangular, 10 – 12 × 8 – 10 mm, cordate‑embracing at the base, margins slightly undulate.
Inflorescence & flowers : Elongated racemes of whitish (very faintly sulphur‑tinged) flowers; petals exceed 10 mm and are longer than the sepals; major filaments not toothed. The species never shows a truly yellow corolla in Lebanon and Syria.
Fruit (silicule) : Long‑pedicelled, orbicular‑oval, slightly concave, deep green; margins deeply crenate, sinus scarcely marked; style very long, equalling the silicule body.
Flowering period : May – July.
Habitat & elevation : Localised on rocky montane slopes; recorded at the Cedars of Lebanon, ʿAïn Qarn, Jabal Sannine and parts of the Anti‑Lebanon range.
Native range : Turkey, Armenia, Syria and Lebanon, with a single historical record from Greece.