Family |
Brassicaceae
Noccaea vesicaria
(L.) Al-Shehbaz
Noccaea vesicaria (L.) Al-Shehbaz
First published in Harvard Pap. Bot. 19: 47 (2014).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, p. 135, Pl. LI, 4; 1970)
Description
Life-form & habit: Hairless perennial herb, 5–15 cm tall, with one or several upright stems branching at the crown below the leaves and forming several basal rosettes.
Leaves: Dense basal rosettes of linear-oblong leaves tapered at the base, with three or four teeth along the sides. Stem leaves reduced, oval or oblong and pointed.
Inflorescence & flowers: Head-like raceme of white flowers, with petals about 5–7 mm long.
Fruit: Inflated, papery, net-veined silicles with a distinct central vein, about 10–15 × 6–10 mm, containing six to nine seeds. The fruiting cluster forms a roughly ovoid mass 3–5 cm high and 2–3 cm wide.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: April.
Habitat & elevation: Mountain slopes; localized.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: The Cedars in Mouterde; also recorded at Sannine.
Syrian distribution: Manchoura, above Bloudane, Jabal Qasyoun and high above Arne on Hermon.
Native range: Lebanon-Syria, North Caucasus, Transcaucasus, Türkiye.
⚠️ Taxonomic note:
Mouterde uses Coluteocarpus vesicarius (L.) Holmboe and cites Alyssum vesicaria L. Kew lists the latter and Coluteocarpus vesicaria (L.) Holmboe as synonyms of the accepted Noccaea vesicaria.