Family |
Geraniaceae
Geranium makmelicum
Aedo
Endemic to Lebanon
Geranium makmelicum Aedo
(First published in Anales Jard. Bot. Madrid 52: 105 (1994); Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, Pl. CLXXXI nº 1; 1970, as Geranium cinereum Cav. subsp. subcaulescens (L'Hér.) Hayek, incl. Lebanese material later treated as G. makmelicum)
• Life-form & habit : Dwarf perennial hemicryptophyte, 1–10 cm tall, forming small alpine tufts; stock thick, somewhat branched and lignified; stems very short, less than 10 cm, few-flowered and sometimes almost leafless. (flora.kadel.cz)
• Leaves : Leaves mostly radical, long-petiolate, densely hispid-pubescent, slightly greyish; blade orbicular, 1–2 cm wide in alpine descriptions, palmatipartite, with 5–7 obtuse triangular lobes, each lobe shallowly trilobulate. (flora.kadel.cz)
• Inflorescence & flowers : Flowers few, usually paired; sepals with a double indumentum, combining long scattered bristles with short pubescence, briefly mucronate; petals large, obovate, often truncate or retuse at the apex, pink to whitish-pink, 10–14 mm, without a dark basal spot, about twice as long as the calyx. (flora.kadel.cz)
• Fruit : Fruiting pedicels deflexed; fruit about 2.5 cm long, with pubescent valves.
• Phenology : Flowers from June to July according to Mouterde; broader alpine-cultivation sources indicate summer flowering. (flora.kadel.cz)
• Habitat & elevation : High mountain grassland and rocky habitats, especially sunny rock crevices and alpine rocky slopes, approximately 1800–2600 m. (flora.kadel.cz)
• Lebanese distribution : Recorded by Mouterde, under G. cinereum subsp. subcaulescens, from Jabal Chahalé near Laqlouq, Jourd Tannourine, Makmel, above the Cedars, ‘Aïn el-Qarn, Hadeth, Col des Cèdres, the Cedars and Jisr-el-Hajar. The plate was drawn from material from Sir-ed-Denniyé.
• Native range : Lebanon.
• Diagnostic remarks : Lebanese endemic. Mouterde treated the plant under the broader name Geranium cinereum subsp. subcaulescens, but POWO accepts Geranium makmelicum Aedo and gives its native range as northern Lebanon. POWO lists Geranium subcaulescens var. obtusilobum Bornm. and Geranium cinereum var. obtusilobum (Bornm.) P.F.Yeo as homotypic synonyms of G. makmelicum. It is distinguished by its very low alpine habit, thick lignified stock, densely greyish hispid radical leaves with obtuse shallow lobes, large pink to whitish petals without a dark basal blotch, and deflexed fruiting pedicels. (powo.science.kew.org)