Family |
Amaranthaceae
Dysphania botrys
(L.) Mosyakin & Clemants
Dysphania botrys (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants
≡ Chenopodium botrys L. (syn.)
(First published in Ukrayins’k. Bot. Zhurn. 59: 383; 2002. Treated in Nouv. Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 1, p. 410, Pl. CXXXVII nº 3; 1966, as Chenopodium botrys L.)
• Life-form & habit: Annual herb, wholly pubescent and strongly aromatic, 20 – 60 cm tall; stems erect or ascending, much-branched, whitish-gray with short glandular hairs.
• Leaves: Lower leaves oval or oblong, sinuately or pinnatifidly lobed; upper leaves smaller, less divided, becoming entire upwards; all surfaces softly pubescent and glandular.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Flowers arranged in axillary cymes forming dense leafy spikes; branches and calyces glandular-pubescent. Sepals not keeled; flowers small, greenish-red to purplish, slightly fragrant.
• Fruit: Achenes smooth, subglobose, horizontally oriented; seeds black and shining.
• Phenology: Flowers May – August.
• Habitat & elevation: Prefers sandy and disturbed soils, roadsides, and waste places.
• Lebanese distribution: Coastal and mid-altitude regions — Beirut, Nahr el-Kelb, Tripoli, ʿAmchit, Ghazir, ʿAramoun, Douma, Faraya, Broummana, Hadeth, Ksara.
• Native range: Afghanistan, Albania, Bulgaria, Corse, Cyprus, East Aegean Islands, East European Russia, East Himalaya, France, Greece, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Kriti, Krym, Lebanon-Syria, Mongolia, Nepal, North Caucasus, NW. Balkan Peninsula, Pakistan, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Saudi Arabia, Sicilia, South European Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Tadzhikistan, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Turkey-in-Europe, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, West Himalaya, Xinjiang, Yemen (POWO).
• Introduced into: Alabama, Algeria, Altay, Arizona, Assam, Austria, Baltic States, Belgium, Bolivia, British Columbia, California, Central European Russia, Colorado, Connecticut, Czechia-Slovakia, Delaware, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Libya, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mexico Northeast, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Poland, Primorye, Prince Edward Island, Québec, Rhode Island, Sinai, South Dakota, Sweden, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Vietnam, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming (POWO).
• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: Formerly included in Chenopodium, this species was transferred to Dysphania by Mosyakin & Clemants (2002) based on molecular and morphological evidence separating aromatic, glandular taxa from the farinose Chenopodium group. It is a widespread cosmopolitan weed often associated with disturbed or ruderal habitats.