Flora-Fauna

Barbarea macrocarpa (Boiss. & Heldr.) Al-Shehbaz & Jacquemoud

(in Candollea 55: 202; 2000 – basionym: Barbarea verna var. macrocarpa Boiss. & Heldr. in Diagn. Pl. Orient. ser. 1, 6: 71; 1846)

• Life-form & habit: Biennial or short-lived perennial herb 25–60 cm tall; stem erect, simple or few-branched above, glabrous or sparsely pubescent at base.

• Leaves: Basal leaves forming a rosette, lyrate-pinnatifid with a large terminal lobe and 1–3 pairs of smaller lateral lobes; upper cauline leaves oblong to lanceolate, coarsely toothed or entire, sessile and slightly clasping.

• Inflorescence & flowers: Racemes elongate and many-flowered in fruit. Sepals oblong, green with pale margins; petals bright yellow, obovate, 6–8 mm long; stamens 6, tetradynamous; stigma capitate.

• Fruit: Silique linear-cylindrical, 25–45 mm long, slightly curved, glabrous; style short; seeds in one row per locule, smooth, brown, 1.5 mm long.

• Phenology: Flowers and fruits from March to June.

• Habitat & elevation: Moist rocky or grassy slopes, stream banks, and submontane clearings on calcareous substrates between 800 and 1 600 m.

• Lebanese distribution: Endemic to the Mount Lebanon range; confirmed from the slopes of Jabal Sannine, Ehden, and Barouk.

• Native to: Endemic to Lebanon (POWO).

• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: Barbarea macrocarpa was long treated as a variety of B. verna by Boissier and Heldreich before being raised to specific rank. It differs from B. verna by its larger siliques, broader petals, and more robust habit with distinctly lyrate basal leaves. Mouterde (1966) noted it as a rare montane crucifer confined to humid niches of the Lebanese mountains. The species was later confirmed as a Lebanese endemic by Al-Shehbaz & Jacquemoud (2000) following detailed revision of the genus in the Levant.