Family |
Lamiaceae
Origanum syriacum
L.
Origanum syriacum L.
First published in Species Plantarum: 590 (1753)
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3, Pl. XCI nº 3; 1983)
Description
Life-form & habit: Suffrutescent perennial with erect stems and branches covered with spreading hairs.
Leaves: Petiolate; petioles often bearing very dense hairs. Blade ovate, 1–3 cm, usually obtuse (sometimes subacute), entire or slightly undulate; pubescent, greyish, with very marked venation.
Inflorescence & flowers: Spikes fascicled at the summit of axillary branchlets and on stem apices, borne on peduncles of variable length. Spikes ovoid to cylindrical, rarely exceeding 1 cm. Bracts distichous, obtuse, strongly imbricate, 2 mm, concealing the calyx. Calyx 2 mm, deeply notched on the outer side, the rest forming a green, pubescent, retuse plate. Corolla white, 5 mm, tube slender, barely exserted. Stamens and style exserted.
Fruit: Four small smooth nutlets.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: June – December.
Habitat & elevation: Very widespread; rocky terrains, old walls, dry slopes.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Almost ubiquist across the country. Collected from the coast to upper mountain belts including:
E. of Zahrani, Saïda, Beirut, Antélias, Nahr el-Kelb, ʿAmchit, Ras Chekka, Tripoli, ʿAbey, Kahalé, Deir el-Qamar, Bikfaya, Bilhas, Broummana, Douma, ʿAïn Zehalta, Qannoubine, Hasroun, Dimane, Ehden, ʿEjbaa, ʿAqoura, Falougha, Qornayel, Bcharré; Hazerta, Zahlé; Marjayyoun; Sahyoun; Slenfé, Rouadi, Cassius; Banias, Fiq; Tell Kalakh; Deraʿa.
Native range: Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sinai, Türkiye.
⚠️ Taxonomic note:
One of the most morphologically variable Levantine Origanum species and the “za’tar” of biblical and traditional usage. It hybridizes readily with several Lebanese species, especially O. libanoticum, O. bargyli, O. ehrenbergii, and O. laevigatum, producing a complex hybrid swarm in contact zones.