Flora-Fauna

Echinops spinosissimus subsp. bithynicus (Boiss.) Greuter

(Willdenowia 6: 34; 1972. ≡ Echinops bithynicus Boiss., Diagn. pl. orient. ser. 1, 11: 70; 1849*)

• Life-form & habit: Perennial thistle-like herb with a woody base; stems 30–90(–120) cm tall, erect and usually well branched, forming several long ascending axes each terminating in a globose capitulum. Stems greenish to purplish, arachnoid-pubescent or shortly tomentose, sometimes nearly glabrescent, not glandular.

• Leaves: Firm, rigid, pinnatisect to bipinnatisect, with narrow triangular lobes ending in strong yellowish spines. Upper surface greenish to grey-green, sparsely arachnoid; lower surface paler, sometimes subglabrous; margins finely spinulose. Basal leaves 10–20 cm long, petiolate; upper leaves sessile and weakly decurrent.

• Inflorescence & flowers: Capitula numerous (3–10 or more per plant), globose, 3–5 cm in diameter, borne on long, usually equal-length branches. Involucral bracts shorter, denser, and less radiating than in subsp. macrolepis, forming a compact spherical outline; outer bracts narrowly lanceolate to subulate, pale straw to whitish, not exceeding the corollas. Florets bluish to lilac; anthers yellowish; style branches long and exserted.

• Fruit: Achenes cylindric to oblong, glabrescent; pappus short, of small rigid scales or minute bristles.

• Phenology: Flowers June–August; fruits July–September.

• Habitat & elevation: Dry rocky slopes, steppe margins, and open fields, on limestone or marly soils, from sea level to about 1000(–1200) m; typical of Mediterranean and sub-Mediterranean foothills with summer drought.

• Lebanese distribution: Recorded from the Ammiq–West Beqaa region, where several well-branched plants with multiple heads were photographed and collected. This represents the first confirmed record of the taxon in Lebanon, expanding its known range southward from its previously documented distribution in the eastern Mediterranean.

• Native range (POWO): Cyprus, East Aegean Islands, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Kriti, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe.

• ⚠️ Taxonomic note:
Subsp. bithynicus represents the western, lowland, multi-headed form within the E. spinosissimus complex. It differs from subsp. macrolepis by its more branched habit, numerous smaller capitula, shorter and denser involucral bracts, greener and less tomentose foliage, and lower altitudinal range.
The Lebanese population was likely previously misidentified as subsp. macrolepis in earlier floras, which grouped all E. spinosissimus forms under a single taxon. The discovery in Ammiq thus constitutes the first documented occurrence of subsp. bithynicus in Lebanon, marking a significant westward extension of its known range.