Flora-Fauna

Cota tinctoria (L.) J. Gay

(in G. Gussone, Fl. Sicul. Syn. 2(2): 867; 1845 – basionym: Anthemis tinctoria L., Sp. Pl.: 893; 1753 – Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, Pl. CCXXX nº 2; 1969)

• Life-form & habit: Perennial herb with a woody base, 20–60 cm tall, aromatic, and often forming loose tufts. Stems erect or ascending, angular, glabrous to sparsely pubescent, green or purplish.

• Leaves: Alternate, 2–3-pinnatisect, lobes linear to narrowly lanceolate, 1–3 mm wide, slightly fleshy, dull green or greyish, both surfaces sparsely hairy to glabrescent; margins entire or minutely toothed. Basal leaves shortly petiolate, upper sessile.

• Inflorescence & flowers: Capitula solitary on long, erect peduncles. Involucre hemispheric, 10–15 mm across; phyllaries imbricate, outer green with narrow, scarious margins. Ray florets white (occasionally pale yellow), female, 15–25; disc florets golden-yellow, tubular, fertile. Receptacle conical, paleaceous, scales lanceolate.

• Fruit: Achenes oblong, smooth, 2 mm long, 5-ribbed, without pappus.

• Phenology: Flowers from May to August; fruits mature from June to September.

• Habitat & elevation: Dry grassy slopes, roadsides, rocky hillsides, and field margins; from lowland plains up to 1 800 m. Prefers open, sunny sites on calcareous or sandy soils.

• Lebanese distribution: Reported by Mouterde from the Beqaa Valley, Dahr el-Baïdar, Barouk, and Zahlé; frequent in dry ruderal and montane grasslands, sometimes forming broad colonies on disturbed soils.

• Native to: Albania, Altay, Austria, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Buryatiya, Central European Russia, Chita, Czechia-Slovakia, Denmark, East Aegean Is., East European Russia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Irkutsk, Italy, Jawa, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Krasnoyarsk, Krym, Lebanon-Syria, Netherlands, North Caucasus, North European Russia, Northwest European Russia, Norway, NW. Balkan Pen., Palestine, Poland, Romania, Sardegna, Sicilia, South European Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, West Siberia, Yakutiya (POWO).

• Introduced into: Alaska, Alberta, Amur, Arkansas, British Columbia, California, Canary Is., Connecticut, Corse, Finland, Great Britain, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Ireland, Kamchatka, Maine, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Newfoundland, North Dakota, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Primorye, Québec, Rhode I., Sakhalin, Saskatchewan, South Australia, South Dakota, Tasmania, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming (POWO).

• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: A widespread Eurasian composite, formerly included within Anthemis, recognised by its woody rootstock, pinnatisect leaves with linear lobes, and bright yellow disc florets contrasting with white rays. * Cota tinctoria* differs from the Levantine C. palaestina by its larger, more robust capitula, broader leaf segments, and less dissected foliage. In Lebanon, it occurs sporadically on dry montane slopes and ruderal pastures, often overlapping in range but not in microhabitat with C. palaestina.