Family |
Rubiaceae
Asperula glomerata
(M.Bieb.) Griseb.
Asperula glomerata (M. Bieb.) Griseb.
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3, Pl. CLIII nº 1; 1983)
Life-form & habit: Glaucous, suffrutescent perennial with multiple stems from a woody rhizome; 15–30 cm tall. Stems ascending, whitish, fragile, with sparse hairs.
Leaves: In whorls of 6, narrowly linear, strongly revolute at the margins, acute, short, scabrous; lower leaves deflexed.
Inflorescence & flowers: Flowers in opposite fascicles on shortly pedunculate stems; upper ones sessile, forming strongly interrupted terminal spikes. Bracts broader than the leaves, lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate, acute, scabrous, revolute at margins, slightly shorter than the corolla.
Corolla: Yellow-green, glabrous or velvety; tube three times longer than the limb, continued into a short appendage.
Fruit: Mericarps oblong, glabrous or sparsely hairy.
Phenology: Flowers from July to August.
Habitat & elevation: Rocky mountain terrain at mid to high elevations.
Lebanese distribution: var. capitata: Makmel, ‘Aïn el-Qarn, Foum el-Mizhab, Col des Cèdres, Qornet Saouda, Jabal Sannine above Metn; Hermon summit.
Native range: Turkey, Iran, Lebanon, Syria