Flora-Fauna

Euphorbia macroclada Boiss.

(First published in Diagn. Pl. Orient. 5: 54; 1844. Treated in Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, p. 495, Pl. CCIX nº 4; 1970)

• Life-form & habit: Perennial herb or subshrub with woody base, branching into erect, stout stems covered with dense foliage.

• Leaves: Numerous, oblong-lanceolate, entire, coriaceous, often persistent; upper leaves smaller and sessile.

• Inflorescence & flowers: Terminal umbels, often large, compound, with foliaceous bracts. Cyathia glabrous externally, pubescent within; lobes ovate, ciliate. Glands conspicuous, with lateral horns often divided or palmately branched (var. schizoceras dominant in the Levant).

• Fruit: Capsule ovoid, glabrous, with deeply marked three grooves. Seeds pale, smooth, with a broad transverse caruncle.

• Phenology: Flowers from April to August.

• Habitat & elevation: Montane and semi-arid regions, rocky and dry slopes.

• Lebanese distribution: Beqaa (Boqa‘ta), Hasroun, Les Cèdres, Ehden, Dimane, Jabal Sannine, Qornet es-Saouda, Zahlé, Mreijatte, Baalbeck, Yaat; Hermon.

• Native range: Kurdistan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon.

• Conservation notes: Still relatively widespread in Lebanon, but populations fragmented; threatened by overgrazing and habitat disturbance. Pine tree afforestation in the subalpine belt and climate change may alter its montane habitats.

• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: Characterized by its strong woody habit, large umbels, and palmately divided horned glands of var. schizoceras, which is dominant locally.