Family |
Asparagaceae
Drimia aphylla
(Forssk.) J.C.Manning & Goldblatt
Drimia aphylla (Forssk.) J.C.Manning & Goldblatt
(First published in Edinburgh J. Bot. 60: 556 (2003 publ. 2004); Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 1, Pl. LXXIV nº 1; 1966, as Urginea maritima (L.) Baker)
• Life-form & habit : Perennial bulbous geophyte, completely glabrous; bulb large, usually partly exposed above ground, up to 18 cm in diameter, covered with thick, coriaceous tunics.
• Leaves : Leaves appearing after flowering, all basal, numerous, broadly lanceolate, up to 1 m × 10 cm, glabrous, forming a large winter rosette.
• Inflorescence & flowers : Scape erect, 40–160 cm tall, often tinged purple, up to 15 mm thick; inflorescence long and dense; bracts membranous, whitish, paired; pedicels slender, smooth, spreading then erect, up to 3 cm; flowers white, star-shaped, 6–8 mm; tepals oblong, obtuse, with a single green or purple midrib; stamens much shorter than the perianth.
• Fruit : Capsule oval to oval-oblong, trilobed; seeds flattened, black and glossy.
• Phenology : Flowers from July to October.
• Habitat & elevation : Rocks or sands near the sea, also extending more deeply inland.
• Lebanese distribution : Common along the Lebanese coast; recorded from Beirut, Nahr el-Kelb, Ras Chekka, Tripoli, Kahalé, Tlail and Menges.
• Native range : Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon-Syria, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sinai, Türkiye.
• Diagnostic remarks : Previously treated by Mouterde as Urginea maritima and later often placed under Drimia maritima; POWO now accepts the eastern Mediterranean and Near Eastern taxon as Drimia aphylla. It is recognized by its very large partly emergent bulb, tall dense raceme of white flowers before the leaves, and broad post-flowering leaves.