Family |
Asteraceae
Lactuca hispida
DC.
Lactuca hispida DC.
First published in Prodr. 7: 139 (1838).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3, p. 533, under Cephalorrhynchus tuberosus, Pl. CCCXL, 1; 1983)
Description
Synonym: Cephalorrhynchus tuberosus (Steven) Schchian.
Life-form & habit: Biennial with a spherical tuberous root. Stem erect, hollow, 30–60 cm tall, glabrous or with glandular hairs, leafy towards the base and fork-branched above; branches and flower stalks glandular.
Leaves: Glabrous. Lower leaves stalked and deeply pinnately divided into oval or oblong, wavy-toothed segments, with a frequently lanceolate terminal segment. Middle leaves sessile, broadly ear-shaped at the base, toothed and pinnately divided. Upper leaves often entire and lanceolate, with a stem-clasping base.
Inflorescence & flowers: Cylindrical heads with a glabrous involucre; outer bracts nearly equal to one another and about one-third the length of the inner ones. Flowers yellowish white.
Fruit: Black, elliptic-linear, cylindrical to angular achenes with 13–15 slightly rough ribs and a white beak approximately as long as the body.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: May–June.
Habitat & elevation: Humus-rich ground in woodland or formerly wooded places, especially at the foot of cedars.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Cedars of Maasser and Hadeth, the Cedars, Ehden forest, west of Marj Hin, Sir ed Denniye and Chaara near Baalbeck.
Syrian distribution: Cedars of Slenfe, Cassius and above Zebdani.
Recorded locations: Sannine.
Native range: Albania, Bulgaria, East Aegean Is., Greece, Krym, Lebanon-Syria, North Caucasus, NW. Balkan Pen., Palestine, Romania, Transcaucasus, Türkiye and Ukraine.