Family |
Boraginaceae
Onosma frutescens
Lam.
Onosma frutescens Lam.
First published in Tabl. Encycl. 1: 407 (1792).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3, p. 70, Pl. XXXIV, 4; 1983)
Description
Life-form & habit: Subshrub, 30–80 cm tall, extensively woody at the base. Bristles arise from bare tubercles, spreading on stems and branches but pressed against the leaves.
Leaves: Often greyish, oblong-lanceolate to linear-lanceolate and more or less blunt.
Inflorescence & flowers: One or two very short terminal cymes, scarcely lengthening in fruit. The bristly calyx enlarges markedly. The corolla broadens toward its tip and is yellow, becoming reddish brown as flowering ends; it exceeds the calyx by about one-third. Anthers project slightly.
Fruit: Large, ovate, slightly pointed nutlets, very smooth, glossy and marbled.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: Flowering March–June.
Habitat & elevation: Rocks and scrub.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Saida, Nahr Damour, Beirut, Antelias, Nahr el Kelb, Nahr Ibrahim, Qalmoun, Abey, Ghazir, Tourzaya, Rayfoun, Bikfaya, Barouk–Maaser, Broummana, Afqa ruins, Basloukite, Hasroun, Sannine, Chebaa, Rachaya, Ain Ata, Kornet Chehwan, Baskinta and Kfertay.
Syrian distribution: Bhamra, Signal de Rouadi, Banias and near Arne.
Native range: East Aegean Is., Greece, Lebanon-Syria, Palestine, Türkiye.