Flora-Fauna

Crupina crupinastrum (Moris) Vis.

(Fl. Dalmat. 2: 42, 1847; Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3, p. 521; Pl. CCCXXVIII nº 1; 1966)

• Life-form & habit: Annual, 30–70 cm tall, glabrous, stems erect, simple or sparsely branched.
• Leaves: Basal leaves pinnatisect with linear to narrowly lanceolate segments; cauline leaves smaller, sessile, sometimes entire. Surfaces glabrous, margins finely denticulate.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Capitula solitary or few, on long peduncles; involucre cylindrical, 10–15 mm, glabrous, with numerous bracts ending in short mucronate tips. Florets purplish to lilac, all tubular, hermaphroditic.
• Fruit: Achenes oblong, ribbed, 8–10 mm, surmounted by a persistent pappus of long plumose bristles.
• Phenology: Flowers April–June.
• Habitat & elevation: Dry fields, rocky slopes, roadsides, fallow ground; low to mid elevations.
• Lebanese distribution: Frequent in coastal plains (Beirut, Saida, Tripoli), foothills, and Beqaa (Zahlé, Baalbeck).
• Syrian distribution: Damascus plain, Hauran, Aleppo, Latakia, Palmyra, Euphrates valley.
• Native range: Albania, Algeria, Baleares, Bulgaria, Corse, Cyprus, East Aegean Islands, Egypt, France, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kriti, Lebanon–Syria, Libya, Morocco, North Caucasus, NW. Balkan Peninsula, Palestine, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain, Switzerland, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkey-in-Europe (POWO).
• Introduced into: Germany (POWO).

⚠️ Diagnostic note: Separated from the rare Crupina vulgaris Cass. by its larger capitula (10–15 mm vs. 5–7 mm), longer achenes (8–10 mm), and more robust habit.