Family |
Apiaceae
Eryngium heldreichii
Boiss.
Leb. Syr. Tur.
Eryngium heldreichii Boiss.
(Diagn. Pl. Orient. 10: 20; 1849 – Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, Pl. CXIV nº 3; 1969)
• Life-form & habit: Perennial spiny herb, 20–60 cm tall, with a robust taproot and several rigid, erect stems branching in the upper part to form a corymbose inflorescence. Whole plant glaucous-green to bluish, glabrous, and strongly lignified at the base.
• Leaves: Basal leaves long-petiolate, pinnatisect with narrow, rigid lobes ending in spines; cauline leaves sessile, amplexicaul with broad, spiny sheaths; upper leaves more divided, linear-lanceolate, and strongly dentate, each tooth terminating in a fine spine.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Inflorescence composed of ovoid to globose capitula, 1.5–2.5 cm across, surrounded by a conspicuous whorl of rigid, lanceolate bracts with spiny margins and a bluish tinge. Flowers numerous, bisexual, bluish to pale green; calyx lobes lanceolate, acute; petals ovate, slightly inflexed at apex; stamens exserted.
• Fruit: Schizocarp broadly ovoid, 3–4 mm long, covered with prominent, longitudinal ridges; mericarps separating at maturity into two convex halves.
• Phenology: Flowers and fruits from June to September.
• Habitat & elevation: Dry rocky slopes, steppe pastures, and montane grasslands on limestone, typically between 1 000 and 2 200 m. Prefers sunny, exposed habitats with shallow, calcareous soil.
• Lebanese distribution: Endemic to high altitudes of the Mount Lebanon chain, especially Barouk, Ehden, Sannine, and Dahr el-Baïdar; also noted by Mouterde from the Anti-Lebanon near Rashaya. Locally frequent in subalpine pastures and rocky steppe vegetation.
• Native to: Lebanon, Syria, Türkiye (POWO).
• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: Eryngium heldreichii is a Levantine–Anatolian montane species closely allied to E. creticum but distinguished by its strongly rigid habit, bluish inflorescences, and bracts much longer than the capitula. Mouterde emphasised its spiny, glaucous aspect and its adaptation to dry alpine limestone habitats, making it a characteristic element of Lebanon’s high-mountain flora.