Family |
Brassicaceae
Noccaea oppositifolia
(Pers.) Al-Shehbaz & Menke
Endemic to Lebanon
Noccaea oppositifolia (Pers.) Al-Shehbaz & Menke
(First published in Taxon 61: 949; 2012. Treated in Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, p. 90, Pl. XXXIV nº 6; 1970, as Aethionema oppositifolium ( Lab. ) Boiss.)
Description
Life-form & habit: Perennial, tufted, low-growing herb with short whitish stems 6 – 8 cm, arising from a weakly woody cylindrical root.
Leaves: Opposite, semi-orbicular, sessile, slightly fleshy, glaucescent; lower leaves closely spaced, upper pairs more distant.
Inflorescence & flowers: Short racemes 3 – 8-flowered; calyx slightly reddish, caducous; petals pink, 4 – 5 mm.
Fruit: Silicle ovoid, bilocular, winged, slightly retuse at apex, topped by a short style (≈ 1 mm).
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: Flowers May – June.
Habitat & elevation: Rocky alpine slopes and cliffs, 2 000 – 3 000 m.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Makmel massif, Qornet es-Saouda, Foum el-Mizhab, Rijal el-‘Achara, Col des Cèdres.
Native range: Endemic to Lebanon (possibly confined to the Makmel massif).
⚠️ Taxonomic note:
Formerly placed in Aethionema; transferred to Noccaea by Al-Shehbaz & Menke (2012) based on molecular and morphological evidence linking it to the N. montana complex.