Family |
Colchicaceae
Colchicum stevenii
Kunth
Colchicum stevenii Kunth
(First published in Enum. Pl. 4: 122 (1843); Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 1; 1966)
• Life-form & habit : Perennial bulbous geophyte; corm ovoid, covered with brown to dark fibrous tunics; flowering hysteranthous, appearing before the leaves.
• Leaves : Produced after flowering, 3–6, linear to lanceolate, 10–25 cm long, glabrous, forming a basal rosette.
• Inflorescence & flowers : Flowers solitary or few, emerging in autumn; perianth funnel-shaped, pale pink to lilac, often with a whitish throat; tube long and slender; segments 6, oblong; stamens 6, shorter than the perianth segments.
• Fruit : Capsule ovoid, developing at ground level among the leaves in spring; seeds numerous, brown.
• Phenology : Flowers from September to November; fruiting from March to May.
• Habitat & elevation : Open rocky slopes, grasslands and light woodland clearings; 0–1800 m.
• Lebanese distribution : Widespread and locally common throughout Lebanon.
• Native range : Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Lebanon-Syria, Palestine, Türkiye.