Family |
Boraginaceae
Myosotis refracta
Boiss.
Myosotis refracta Boiss.
First published in Voy. Bot. Espagne 2: 433 (1841).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3, p. 87, Pl. XLIV, 7; 1983)
Description
Life-form & habit: Annual herb, 10–30 cm tall, often branching from the base, with spreading white bristles that frequently point downwards along the stem.
Leaves: Very small and oblong-lanceolate; basal leaves more or less spatulate and shortly stalked.
Inflorescence & flowers: Leafless, one-sided cymes become very long and somewhat winding. Calyx divided halfway into five lobes and densely covered in spreading hooked hairs. Corolla very small, blue or sometimes white, with a concave limb that does not exceed the calyx.
Fruit: Fruiting stalks shorter than the calyx, soon curving downwards parallel to the stem. Fruiting calyx club-shaped; nutlets pointed.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: April–June, extending into July in the mountains.
Habitat & elevation: Various substrates; not particularly associated with wet ground.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Bchela, Qrayye, Tannourine, Afqa, Ain Zhalta, Hasroun, Jourd Hadeth, Ehden, the Machghara pass, Sannine, above Ehden forest and Barr Elias. Sannine is also represented in the recorded locations.
Syrian distribution: Nebi Younes, the summit of Cassius, above Zebdani, Jdeidet Yabous, Jabal Qebli, Wadi el Qarn, Bloudane, Jabal Maaloula, Jabal Gharbi, Jabal Qasyoun, Kafer–Salkhad, Soueida–Sale, Chahba and Tell Chihane.
Native range: Afghanistan, Cyprus, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Kriti, Krym, Lebanon-Syria, NW. Balkan Pen., Pakistan, Palestine, Spain, Tadzhikistan, Transcaucasus, Turkmenistan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, West Himalaya.