Family |
Asteraceae
Klasea pusilla
(Labill.) Greuter & Wagenitz
Klasea pusilla (Labill.) Greuter & Wagenitz
(Willdenowia 33: 59; 2003 – basionym: Serratula pusilla Labill., Icon. Pl. Syr. 2: 17, t. 18; 1809 – Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, Pl. CCXLII nº 3; 1969)
• Life-form & habit: Perennial herb, 15–40 cm tall, with a woody base and several ascending stems forming small, loose tufts. Stems slender, striate, simple or sparsely branched, covered with a thin arachnoid or cobwebby indumentum when young, later glabrescent.
• Leaves: Basal and lower cauline leaves lyrate-pinnatifid, 5–12 × 1–3 cm, with a large terminal lobe and smaller lateral lobes; upper leaves smaller, entire or dentate, sessile and semiamplexicaul. Surfaces green and slightly pubescent above, whitish-tomentose beneath.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Capitula solitary or few, terminal, 2–3 cm in diameter, discoid (without rays). Involucre campanulate, 10–15 mm long; phyllaries numerous, imbricate, dark green or purplish, with scarious margins and finely ciliate tips. Florets all tubular, pink to purple; corolla 12–14 mm long, limb divided into slender lobes; anther tube dark purple; style branches exserted.
• Fruit: Achene oblong, 4–5 mm long, striate, glabrous, topped by a persistent pappus of numerous, rough, white bristles about twice the length of the corolla tube.
• Phenology: Flowers from May to July; fruits ripen from July to September.
• Habitat & elevation: Dry rocky slopes, limestone outcrops, and open montane grasslands, 800–1 800 m. Prefers calcareous, shallow soils and sunny, exposed habitats.
• Lebanese distribution: Recorded by Mouterde from Mount Lebanon, especially Barouk, Dahr el-Baïdar, Jabal Sannine, and Ehden; frequent on limestone slopes and among open Juniperus excelsa or Quercus calliprinos scrub.
• Native to: Lebanon-Syria, Palestine (POWO).
• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: Originally described by Labillardière (1809) as Serratula pusilla from Syrian material, the species was transferred to Klasea by Greuter & Wagenitz (2003) following a comprehensive revision of the genus. Mouterde (1969) described the Lebanese specimens as small, delicate thistle-like plants with pinkish-purple heads, characteristic of dry montane limestone vegetation. It is closely related to Klasea cerinthifolia but differs by its smaller stature, narrower, less lobed leaves, and solitary capitula.