Family |
Lamiaceae
Marrubium globosum subsp. libanoticum
(Boiss.) P.H.Davis
Endemic to Lebanon
Marrubium globosum subsp. libanoticum (Boiss.) P.H.Davis
(First published in Kew Bull. 6: 71; 1951. Treated in Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3, p. 115, Pl. LU nº 4; 1984, as Marrubium libanoticum Boiss.)
• Life-form & habit: Densely and shortly tomentose perennial, yellowish, very branched at the base, 15 – 40 cm or more. Stems simple, cottony below, hirsute-tomentose above, like the bracts and calyces.
• Leaves: Very rough, ovate to orbicular, irregularly crenate; lower ones long-petiolate, floral ones subsessile, ovate to oblong, exceeding the dense verticillasters.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Pseudoverticils dense. Bracts subulate, slightly shorter than the calyx. Calyx with subulate teeth, three times shorter than the tube, erect, straight. Corolla flesh-coloured, limb short, slightly exceeding the calyx.
• Fruit: Nutlets triquetrous, smooth.
• Phenology: Flowers June – October.
• Habitat & elevation: High mountains, in rocky sites, 1 800 – 3 000 m.
• Lebanese distribution: Mount Lebanon (Jabal Sannine, Afqa, Ehmej, above the Cedars, Foumm el-Mizhab, Qornet es-Saouda).
• Native range: Endemic to Lebanon
• Conservation notes: Restricted to the highest summits of Mount Lebanon and Hermon; populations fragmented and vulnerable to grazing, trampling, and pine tree afforestation in the subalpine belt.
• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: Originally described as Marrubium libanoticum Boiss.; later treated by Davis as a subspecies of M. globosum. Distinguished by its densely tomentose habit, orbicular leaves, and short corolla.
For the case of Marrubium globosum subsp. libanoticum (Boiss.) P.H.Davis reported from Jordan (Danin and Fragman-Sapir 2016). The available recent
data were deemed inadequate as they lacked location, elevation, date, and photographic evidences, and the taxon therefore remained endemic. The new report
does not match with the ecology of this oro-Mediterranean species, which
occurs above 1,600 meters asl in localities with consequent rainfall (Davis et
al. 1972; Mouterde 1984). El Zein et. al. (2025) - Endemism patterns of the vascular flora of Lebanon: A dynamic checklist. PhytoKeys 260: 153–184 (2025)
DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.260.156938.