Flora-Fauna

Cirsium leucocephalum subsp. hermonis (Boiss.) Greuter

(First published in Willdenowia 35: 57; 2005. Treated in Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3, Pl. CCLXI nº 1; 1984, as Cirsium lappaceum var. hermonis)

• Life-form & habit: Robust perennial thistle, 30 – 60(–100) cm tall; stems branched in corymbs above, densely tomentose-canescent.
• Leaves: Basal and lower cauline leaves pinnatipartite, lobes lanceolate ending in strong yellowish spines; upper cauline leaves amplexicaul. Surfaces rough with spinulose tubercles above, tomentose beneath.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Inflorescence a dense corymb; capitula globose, large, sessile or shortly pedunculate. Involucral bracts appressed, tomentose, ending in a fine recurved spine. Corolla purple.
• Fruit: Achenes compressed, glossy; pappus of numerous persistent plumose bristles.
• Phenology: June to September.
• Habitat & elevation: Subalpine pastures and mountain slopes, 1 600 – 2 800 m.
• Lebanese distribution: Mt Hermon, Jabal Sannine, Qornet es-Saouda, Dimane, Ehden, Hasroun, Col d’Aïnata, Tala’at Moussa, cedar forests above Bsharré.
• Native range: Lebanon-Syria (endemic).
• Conservation notes: Confined to high summits, vulnerable to overgrazing and habitat disturbance; sensitive to climate change.

• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: Treated by Mouterde as C. lappaceum var. hermonis, later raised to subspecific rank by Greuter based on tomentose habit, larger capitula, and corymbose inflorescence.