Family |
Rosaceae
Crataegus × sinaica
Boiss.
Crataegus × sinaica Boiss.
First published in Diagnoses Plantarum Orientalium, ser. 2, 2: 48 (1856)
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, Pl. LXXVIII nº 5; 1969)
• Life-form & habit: Shrub or small tree 2–5 m tall, with divaricate branches and numerous strong spines. Young branchlets slightly pubescent at first, becoming glabrous with age.
• Leaves: Similar in shape to those of C. azarolus, cuneate at the base, entire or more often shallowly trilobed, green and glabrous except for a few hairs on young leaves.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Corymbs axillary, few-flowered (5–10). Flowers with 1–2 styles; petals white.
• Fruit: Ovoid, 6–7 × 4–5 mm, red, containing 1–2 bony pyrenes (nucules).
• Phenology: Flowers March – May.
• Habitat & elevation: Prefers sites combining moderate altitude, non-calcareous soils, and semi-arid to arid conditions.
• Lebanese & Syrian distribution: Found between Bloudane and Ouadi Houreiré in Anti-Lebanon; also in the wooded areas of the Jabal Druze, associated with C. azarolus and C. monogyna.
• Native range: Cyprus, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Sinai, Türkiye-in-Europe (POWO).
• Introduced into: South Australia (POWO).
• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: Morphologically intermediate between C. azarolus and C. monogyna, showing mixed floral and fruit traits; considered by some authors to represent a natural hybrid complex adapted to semi-arid mountain habitats of southern Syria and Lebanon.