Flora-Fauna

Fritillaria hermonis Fenzl ex Klatt

(First published in Hamburger Garten- Blumenzeitung 16: 442; 1860. Treated in Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 1, p. 234, Pl. LXXXI nº 5b; 1966, as var. hermonis (Fenzl) Boiss.)

• Life-form & habit: Bulbous perennial, 15 – 35 cm tall, with a tunicate bulb producing 1–3 erect stems.

• Leaves: Several, alternate, narrowly lanceolate to linear, acute; lower leaves larger, upper progressively smaller.

• Inflorescence & flowers: Flowers 1–3 per stem, campanulate, nodding, with tepals oblong-lanceolate, greenish to yellowish, often tessellated with purplish-brown. Filaments somewhat hirsute; style entire or slightly divided.

• Fruit: Capsule oblong, hexagonal, dehiscent, papery when mature.

• Phenology: Flowers from April to June, depending on altitude.

• Habitat & elevation: Rocky montane and subalpine slopes, 1 400 – 2 400 m.

• Lebanese distribution: Cedars, Qornet el-‘Achara, Makmel, slopes above ‘Aïnata, Mt Hermon.

• Native range: Lebanon, Syria. (POWO)

• Conservation notes: Populations scattered across Mount Lebanon and Mt Hermon, mostly in rocky habitats.

• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: Treated by Mouterde as var. hermonis of F. crassifolia. Distinguished by its slightly smaller, darker flowers and more hirsute filaments, though Mouterde considered these differences weak and possibly within normal variation. It is best identified by it's rounded capsules.