Family |
Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbia caudiculosa
Boiss.
Leb. Syr.
Euphorbia caudiculosa Boiss.
(First published in A.P. de Candolle, Prodr. 15(2): 154; 1862. Treated in Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, Pl. CCVIII nº 3; 1970)
• Life-form & habit: Perennial, mostly underground, with a thick rhizomatous system producing numerous subterranean shoots, ending above ground in short emergences rarely exceeding 10 cm.
• Leaves: Crowded, ovate-oblong, somewhat attenuate at the base.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Compact tri-radiate umbel with uniflorous or pauciflorous rays, or solitary cyathia. Cyathium interior hairy; lobes ovate, ciliate. Glands dark purple, with very long horns.
• Fruit: Capsule c. 2 mm, glabrous, with keeled, somewhat winged cocci. Seed grey, smooth except for a few pits; caruncle depressed.
• Phenology: Summer flowering.
• Habitat & elevation: High mountains heavily snow-covered in winter.
• Lebanese distribution: Mount Lebanon (Neba‘ es-Succar, Sir ed-Dennieh, Jabal Sannine, Col des Cèdres, Signal des Cèdres, Qornet es-Saouda, Rijal el-‘Achara, Makmel) and Mt Hermon.
• Native range: Endemic to Lebanon and Syria.
• Conservation notes: A rare alpine Euphorbia, confined to the highest summits; sensitive to grazing. Its small, fragmented populations are further at risk from climate change.
• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: Distinguished by its reduced aerial growth and very long-horned glands; originally confused with other alpine Euphorbia but recognized as a valid Levantine endemic.