Flora-Fauna

Ononis spinosa subsp. leiosperma (Boiss.) Širj.

(Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 49(2): 590; 1932 – basionym: Ononis leiosperma Boiss., Diagn. Pl. Orient. 1: 26; 1842 – Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, Pl. CLXXXV nº 3; 1969)

• Life-form & habit: Perennial spiny subshrub, 20–60 cm tall, with a woody base and erect to ascending stems ending in sharp, rigid spines. Stems green, striate, pubescent or villous with spreading hairs.

• Leaves: Trifoliolate, alternate; leaflets obovate to elliptic, 8–20 × 3–8 mm, finely toothed toward the apex, densely hairy on both sides; petiole short, stipules ovate-lanceolate, persistent, semi-amplexicaul.

• Inflorescence & flowers: Flowers solitary or paired in the upper leaf axils, supported by short pedicels. Calyx tubular-campanulate, 5–8 mm long, hairy, with linear teeth as long as the tube. Corolla 10–15 mm long, pink to purplish-pink; standard broad, wings shorter, keel slightly incurved and whitish inside.

• Fruit: Pod oblong, 4–6 mm long, smooth (hence the epithet leiosperma = smooth-seeded), glabrous or sparsely pubescent, enclosed by the persistent calyx; seeds few, olive-brown, smooth and glossy.

• Phenology: Flowers and fruits from April to July.

• Habitat & elevation: Dry hillsides, rocky slopes, and steppe vegetation, on calcareous or marly soils, 400–1 800 m. Prefers full sun and open Mediterranean to submontane habitats, often associated with dwarf shrubs.

• Lebanese distribution: Common in the Mount Lebanon range — particularly Barouk, Sannine, Zahlé, and Aley — and extending into the Anti-Lebanon near Rashaya and Yanta. Frequently found along dry roadsides and limestone slopes, sometimes forming small spiny thickets.

• Native to: Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Greece, Iran, Iraq, Krym, Lebanon-Syria, North Caucasus, NW. Balkan Pen., Palestine, Transcaucasus, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe (POWO).

• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: Mouterde (1969) treated this subspecies under Ononis spinosa but recognised it as the common Levantine form, characterised by shorter, smoother pods, smaller flowers, and a less rigid, more branched habit than the European O. spinosa subsp. spinosa. It often grows sympatrically with O. natrix but is easily distinguished by its persistent woody spines and compact, cushion-like appearance in arid montane sites.