Family |
Asteraceae
Echinops spinosissimus subsp. macrolepis
(Boiss.) Greuter
Leb. Syr. Pal.
Echinops spinosissimus subsp. macrolepis (Boiss.) Greuter
(Willdenowia 33: 58; 2003 – basionym: Echinops macrolepis Boiss., Diagn. Pl. Orient. ser. 1, 11: 31; 1849 – Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, Pl. CCXVIII nº 2; 1969)
• Life-form & habit: Perennial herb with a thick rootstock and rigid, erect stems 40–100 cm tall, branched above and covered with a dense greyish tomentum. Plant overall spiny, forming coarse clumps.
• Leaves: Alternate, deeply pinnatisect with 5–8 pairs of rigid lobes ending in stout yellowish spines up to 10 mm long. Basal leaves large, 15–30 × 4–10 cm, oblong-lanceolate, petiolate; upper leaves sessile, amplexicaul, and decurrent along the stem. Upper surface green and scabrid; underside densely white-tomentose.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Capitula globose, 2.5–4 cm in diameter, solitary at the ends of branches, surrounded by long, radiating, rigid spiny bracts. Florets numerous, tubular, bluish to pale lilac, 10–15 mm long, with exerted anthers and styles. Receptacle densely woolly.
• Fruit: Achenes oblong, 4–5 mm long, ribbed, covered with fine hairs; pappus short, of minute scabrid bristles.
• Phenology: Flowers and fruits from June to August.
• Habitat & elevation: Dry rocky slopes, steppe margins, and degraded pastures on limestone or marl, 400–1 800 m. Prefers open, sunny exposures and tolerates extreme drought.
• Lebanese distribution: Recorded by Mouterde (as Echinops macrolepis) from Mount Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon — notably Zahlé, Dahr el-Baïdar, Barouk, Ras Baalbeck, and the Beqaa Valley; frequent in steppe and submontane zones.
• Native range: Lebanon-Syria, Palestine (POWO).
• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: Previously treated as Echinops macrolepis Boiss., later reduced to a subspecies of E. spinosissimus by Greuter (2003). It differs from E. spinosissimus subsp. spinosissimus by its larger capitula, longer radiating involucral spines, and denser tomentum.
Echinops spinosissimus subsp. macrolepis also differs from subsp. bithynicus by its robust, simple habit and large solitary capitula with outer involucral bracts distinctly radiating and exceeding the florets, giving a star-shaped aspect when dry. The leaves are densely tomentose and greyish, never glabrous or viscid, and the plant is characteristic of higher altitudes on limestone.