Flora-Fauna

Echinops gaillardotii Boiss.

(Diagn. Pl. Orient., ser. 2, 3: 38; 1856 – Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, Pl. CCXVIII nº 3; 1969)

• Life-form & habit: Perennial herb with a thick rootstock and rigid, erect stems 50–120 cm tall, branched above. Whole plant greyish-green, densely covered with fine tomentum.

• Leaves: Alternate, pinnatisect with 5–8 pairs of lobes; lobes triangular-lanceolate, acuminate, and spiny-tipped. Upper surface greenish-grey and sparsely hairy, underside densely white-tomentose. Basal leaves large, 20–30 × 5–10 cm, petiolate; cauline leaves sessile, semi-amplexicaul, decurrent along the stem.

• Inflorescence & flowers: Globose capitula solitary at the ends of stems and branches, 3–4 cm in diameter, composed of numerous sessile tubular florets. Involucral bracts lanceolate, rigid, spinose at the apex, forming a dense globular head. Corolla pale bluish to whitish; anthers bluish; style exserted.

• Fruit: Achenes oblong, 3–4 mm, finely ribbed, covered with short hairs; pappus of numerous unequal scabrid bristles.

• Phenology: Flowers and fruits from June to August.

• Habitat & elevation: Dry rocky slopes, steppes, and degraded pastures on limestone or marl; 500–1 600 m. Prefers sunny exposures and tolerates drought.

• Lebanese distribution: Common in submontane and montane zones — recorded by Mouterde from Zahlé, Dahr el-Baïdar, Baalbeck, Barouk, Bcharré, and along the western Beqaa. Also occurs on the slopes of Jabal Sannine and Jabal Barouk.

• Native range: Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and Palestine.

• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: Endemic to the Levantine region. Closely allied to Echinops viscosus and E. microcephalus but distinguished by its larger globose heads, densely tomentose foliage, and pale bluish corollas. Often dominant in steppe vegetation between Mount Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon range.