Family |
Fabaceae
Lathyrus laxiflorus subsp. laxiflorus
(Desf.) Kuntze
Leb. Tur.
Lathyrus laxiflorus (Desf.) Kuntze subsp. laxiflorus
First published in Trudy Imp. S.-Peterburgsk. Bot. Sada 10: 185 (1887), for the species Lathyrus laxiflorus.
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, p. 428, under Lathyrus inermis; Pl. CLXXVI, fig. 3)
Description
Synonyms: Lathyrus inermis Rochel ex Friv.; Orobus hirsutus L. Kew places both names under Lathyrus laxiflorus subsp. laxiflorus.
Life-form & habit: Perennial with a creeping rhizome; stems slender, ascending, angular and branched at the base, 20–50 cm long. The typical regional form is softly hairy with spreading hairs; Mouterde also describes nearly hairless or hairless forms.
Leaves: Stipules large, almost as developed as the leaflets, half-arrow-shaped to elliptic, acute at the tip and equalling the petiole. One pair of elliptic leaflets, 2–3 cm long and 1–1.5 cm wide, variable in proportions but not lanceolate in the main account. Leaf axes without a terminal appendage or ending in a short point, rarely a tendril.
Inflorescence & flowers: Peduncles longer than the leaves, bearing two to five violet flowers, spreading or slightly erect. Calyx teeth nearly equal, ciliate, twice as long as the tube. Corolla about 10 mm long, projecting more or less beyond the calyx teeth.
Fruit: Hairy, reticulately veined pods, about 3 cm long and 4 mm wide, slightly curved at the tip, with numerous seeds.
Flowering and habitat
Flowering: April–June.
Habitat & elevation: More or less wooded places. No numerical elevation range is given in Mouterde’s account.
Distribution
Lebanese localities in Mouterde: Bikfaya; Ghazir; Rayfoun; Qartaba; Sir ed Dennié; Ehden forest; Fnaidé; Hadeth; Jabal Barouk; the cedars of Aïn Zehalta. Hairless forms: Aramoun and between Aramoun and Chahtoul.
Syrian localities in Mouterde: Slenfé; Bassit; Froulok; Kizil Dagh; Kessab. Hairless forms: Aïn Haramiyé.
Recorded locations: Bqaatouta.
Native range: Albania, Bulgaria, East Aegean Islands, Greece, Iran, Italy, Crete, Crimea, Lebanon-Syria, North Caucasus, NW Balkan Peninsula, Transcaucasus, Türkiye and Türkiye-in-Europe.
⚠️ Taxonomic note:
The plant previously identified as Lathyrus czeczottianus is Lathyrus laxiflorus subsp. laxiflorus; this is a correction of the recorded identification, not a synonymy between those species. Kew accepts the subspecies and places Mouterde’s L. inermis in its synonymy. The separately treated narrow-leaved subsp. angustifolius is excluded from the description and locality list. The species author is (Desf.) Kuntze; the repeated subspecific epithet is an autonym and carries no separate author. POWO gives the 1887 publication for the species but no separate first-publication citation on the autonym record.