Family |
Araceae
Arum dioscoridis
Sm.
Arum dioscoridis Sibth. & Sm.
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 1, Pl. LV nº 1; 1966)
Life-form & habit: Tuberous perennial with a rounded tuber, centrally depressed on the upper side, from which emerge the leaf petioles and the peduncle.
Leaves: Variable in size, sometimes reaching 25–35 cm; hastate, not trilobed, with weakly divergent lobes. Petioles 2–3 times longer than the blade, much longer than the inflorescence peduncle; outer leaves with sheathing petioles.
Inflorescence & flowers: Peduncle thick, short or very short. Spathe long-acuminate with an oblong tube and a limb twice as long; total spathe length approximately equal to leaf blades, sometimes up to 10 cm wide. Outer side green; inner tube pale; inner limb marked with irregular, isolated or confluent purple spots on a green background (rarely purplish).
Spadix: Appendage subsessile or slightly stipitate, cylindrical or club-shaped, grey-purple.
Sterile flowers: Above the fertile zone more numerous than below; brown, yellowish, or purple.
Fertile zone: Pale-colored ring separated from sterile flowers by two narrow naked bands (< 5 mm), the ring reaching or exceeding 1 cm in width.
Phenology: Flowers from March to May.
Habitat & elevation: Rocky and uncultivated places.
Lebanese distribution: Ci. Beirut and surroundings, Nahr el-Kelb, Jbail, Batroun, Ras Chekka; Mi. ‘Aley, ‘Abey, Jabal Terbol, Sir-ed-Denniyé.
Syrian distribution: NLatt. Froulok.
Native range: Eastern Mediterranean—Rhodes, Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria