Flora-Fauna

Cyclotrichium origanifolium (Labill.) Manden. & Scheng.

(First published in Bot. Mater. Gerb. Bot. Inst. Komarova Akad. Nauk S.S.S.R. 15: 337 (1953); Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3; 1983)

• Life-form & habit : Aromatic perennial chamaephyte to small subshrub, 20–40 cm tall; rhizome thick, woody; stems numerous, erect to ascending, simple or sparsely branched, glabrescent to more or less pubescent.

• Leaves : Opposite, shortly petiolate; blades ovate to broadly ovate, often resembling small Origanum leaves, crenate to serrulate, green to grey-green, glabrescent or softly pubescent, aromatic when crushed.

• Inflorescence & flowers : Flowers arranged in axillary verticillasters forming loose terminal leafy spikes; calyx tubular, 5-toothed, hairy; corolla bilabiate, pink to lilac-purple; stamens 4, didynamous, included or slightly exserted.

• Fruit : Nutlets 4, small, ovoid, smooth, enclosed within the persistent calyx.

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

• Habitat & elevation : Rocky slopes, limestone outcrops, open scrub and dry montane habitats; mostly 500–1800 m.

• Lebanese distribution : Recorded in Lebanon in rocky montane habitats, especially within the Mount Lebanon range and adjacent limestone slopes.

• Native range : SW. & S. Türkiye to Lebanon.

• Diagnostic remarks : Distinguished by its aromatic subshrubby habit, ovate crenate leaves and pink-lilac bilabiate flowers; formerly treated under Calamintha, but separated by its woody base, floral structure and eastern Mediterranean distribution.