Family |
Asteraceae
Leontodon tuberosus
Georgi
Leontodon tuberosus L.
First published in Sp. Pl.: 799 (1753).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3, p. 507, Pl. CCCXVII, 3; 1983)
Description
Life-form & habit: Perennial with a short rootstock surrounded by elongated, cylindrical to turnip-shaped tubers, and scattered hairs forked into two or three branches. Ascending flower stalks are 10–20 cm tall.
Leaves: Basal rosette of oblong-spatulate leaves, toothed or lobed, sometimes with a larger terminal lobe.
Inflorescence & flowers: Each stalk carries one head, about 15 × 8 mm, nodding before flowering. The overlapping, lanceolate involucral bracts are blunt and variably hairy on the back.
Fruit: Rough, prickly achenes; outer fruits narrow towards the tip or bear a fringed cup, while inner fruits have a beak half to two-thirds as long as the body and a feathery pappus.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: Flowering October–May.
Habitat & elevation: Grassy places; very common in the Mediterranean zone according to Mouterde.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Beirut, Nahr Ibrahim, Enfe, Tripoli, Iskanderoune, Araya, Darb es Sim, Beit Mery, Bouqaia, Amriye, Jezzine pass, Jabal Kneisse, Barouk, Hasbaya–Rachaya and Kfertay.
Syrian distribution: Laqbe, Santa, Kafer, Soueida, Sale–Soueida, Fiq, Hemme and north of Qneitra.
Native range: Albania, Algeria, Baleares, Bulgaria, Corse, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Kriti, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Morocco, NW. Balkan Pen., Palestine, Portugal, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain, Tunisia, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe.