Family |
Asteraceae
Lactuca tuberosa
Jacq.
Lactuca tuberosa Jacq.
First published in Hortus Botanicus Vindobonensis 1: 18 (1770)
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3, Pl. CCCXXXVII nº 1–2; 1969, as Steptorhamphus tuberosus)
• Life-form & habit: Perennial with a sometimes lobed tuberous root. Stem 30–100 cm, thick, cylindrical, leafy, ending in a rigid, erect panicle.
• Leaves: Oblong-lanceolate; lowest leaves petiolate and quickly withering; middle leaves with an amplexicaul base, more or less distinctly auriculate, runcinate-laciniate, denticulate, sometimes entire; upper floral leaves lanceolate-linear, sometimes reduced.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Peduncles thick, spreading, scaly, short, each carrying 1–2 capitula. Capitula large, 10–20 mm long, many-flowered. Involucral bracts imbricate and gradually elongating upward. Flowers yellow or violet (Mouterde: “Fleurs jaunes ou violacées”).
• Fruit: Achenes blackish, strongly compressed, abruptly mucronate, with a single nerve on each face; beak very slender, white, 2–4 times longer than the achene body.
• Phenology: April – June.
• Habitat & elevation: Rocky ground, slopes, garrigue, and open scrubland.
• Lebanese distribution: Saïda; Baramiyé–Hallaliyé; Beirut; Nahr Beyrouth; Nahr el-Kelb; Ras Chekka; Tripoli; Ksara; Kfar er-Rine; Broummana; Beit Meri; Ghazir; Baabda; Maghdouché; Achqout; Jabal Niha; Jabal Kneissé; Dahr el-Baïdar; Ehden; Cedars; Jabal Barouk; Kafer Ayya.
• Syrian distribution: Tartous; south of Latakia; ʿAïn Haramiyé; Ouadi el-Qarn; Madaya; Jaoubat Bourghal; Raboué; Jabal Qasyoun; ʿAtil; Soueida; Qanaouat; Chahba; Chaef; Snou Fadel.
• Native range: Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, East Aegean Islands, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Kriti, Krym, Lebanon, Syria, North Caucasus, NW Balkan Peninsula, Oman, Palestine, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Ukraine (POWO).
• ⚠️ Taxonomic note:
Mouterde treats Lactuca tuberosa and Lactuca eretica together under Steptorhamphus tuberosus, confirming they are conspecific. The species is distinguished by its tuberous root, large many-flowered capitula, and the very long slender beak of the achene, which is 2–4× the body length.