Family |
Rosaceae
Alchemilla diademata
Rothm.
Endemic to Lebanon
Alchemilla diademata Rothm.
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, p. 216, Pl. LXXX nº 4; 1966)
Life‑form & habit : Small, tufted perennial with erect‑ascending stems 10 – 15 cm tall; bases densely hispid, the hairs becoming sparser upward.
Basal leaves : Sub‑reniform, 3 – 4 cm wide, broader than long; upper surface glabrous, lower surface more or less densely hispid. Blade incised to about one‑third into 7 – 9 lobes, each lobe fringed by 6 – 7 ciliate teeth whose tips curve slightly inward; the central tooth equals the lateral ones. Basal sinus cordate and almost closed.
Stipules : Long‑membranous, brownish, forming conspicuous sheaths at the petiole bases.
Cauline leaves : Much smaller, semi‑orbicular, shallowly 5‑lobed.
Inflorescence & flowers : Corymbose clusters of very small, greenish, completely glabrous flowers; pedicels as long as the flowers themselves.
Calyx : Eight‑lobed; the four outer lobes markedly narrower and shorter than the inner.
Fruit : Ovoid, urn‑shaped achenes.
Flowering period : May – July.
Habitat : Moist sandstone outcrops and ledges.
native range : Strictly endemic to Lebanon; known from the sandstone belt between Jabal Sannine and Jabal Kneissé and a few neighbouring localities in the Mount Lebanon range.