Family |
Brassicaceae
Odontarrhena condensata subsp. flexibilis
(Boiss. & Hausskn.) Jord. & Fourr.
Odontarrhena condensata subsp. flexibilis (Nyár.) Španiel, Al-Shehbaz, D.A.German & Marhold
(First published in Pl. Syst. Evol. 301: 2484; 2015. Treated in Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, p. 148, Pl. LVIII nº 1; 1970, as Alyssum condensatum Boiss. & Hausskn. subsp. flexibile (Nyár.) Dudley)
• Life-form & habit: Low canescent perennial, woody at the base, forming small tufts 5 – 15 cm tall; stems ascending, covered by stellate scales.
• Leaves: Obovate-oblong, obtuse, attenuate into a petiole, silvery-scaly on both surfaces.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Fruiting racemes compact, forming a corymb-like head. Sepals caducous. Petals yellow, 2 – 4 mm, obovate, entire.
• Fruit: Silicules flat, elliptic, attenuate at both ends, 5 – 5.5 mm, slightly greenish, sparsely scaly; style glabrous, 2–3 times shorter than the fruit.
• Phenology: Flowers May – August.
• Habitat & elevation: Montane habitats, rocky slopes and steppes.
• Lebanese distribution: Jabal Kneissé, Kozhaya, Jourd Hasroun, Jourd Tannourine, and Jabal Barouk.
• Native range: Iraq, Lebanon-Syria, Turkey (POWO).
• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: Previously included in Alyssum alpestre L., a European species not present in the Eastern Mediterranean. Molecular and morphological data now place it within Odontarrhena, closely related to O. condensata s.str.