Family |
Asparagaceae
Ornithogalum narbonense
L.
Ornithogalum narbonense L.
First published in Cent. Pl. II: 15 (1756), nom. cons..
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 1, p. 241, Pl. LXXVI, 3–4; 1966)
Description
Life-form & habit: Perennial herb with an oval bulb and an upright flowering stem.
Leaves: Slightly glaucous, broadly or narrowly linear, with smooth or finely toothed margins. Mouterde's separately treated O. densum has soft leaves strongly hairy beneath.
Inflorescence & flowers: Loose raceme up to 30 cm or more long, with bracts tapering gradually from the base. Flower stalks spread or ascend in flower and lie close to the stem in fruit. Perianth 10–12 mm long in Mouterde's typical account; tepals white with a strong green band. Stamens one-half to two-thirds as long as the perianth, with white filaments and yellow anthers.
Fruit: Oblong capsule with three grooves.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: April–May; March–April in Mouterde's O. densum account.
Habitat & elevation: Cultivated places, fields and waste ground; Mouterde records O. densum in uncultivated ground, scrub and pastures.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Tyr, Ras Bayada, Saida–Nabatiye, Beirut, Antelias, Enfe, Jamhour, Bikfaya, Bzoummar, Antoura, Rayfoun, Ehden, Hasroun, Bcharre, Wadi Hadchit, Qannoubine, Rayak, Zahle, Marjayoun, Sarada and Rachaya. Additional O. densum records include Rmeile, Khalde, Bouar, below Beit Mery, above Jbail, Hrar and the Jezzine–Machghara pass. Also recorded at Bqaatouta and Bekish.
Syrian distribution: Bhamra, south of Safita, Massiaf–Qadmous, the Chatha pass, Slenfe, Banias, Tartous, Aleppo, Ain Tell, Oudehi, Babeska, Khan Sebil, Bab el Haoua, Lake Homs, Jabal Semaane, Rastane, Qalaat el Moudiq, Hama–Homs, Kissoue–Qatana, Qraye–Kafer and Soueida. Mouterde also records O. densum at Kizil Dagh.
Native range: Albania, Algeria, Baleares, Corse, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Egypt, France, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kriti, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Morocco, NW. Balkan Pen., Palestine, Portugal, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe.
Introduced into: Canary Is.
⚠️ Taxonomic note:
Kew includes Ornithogalum densum Boiss. & C.I.Blanche and O. narbonense subsp. brachystachys (K.Koch) Feinbrun within O. narbonense. Mouterde treats these separately; the O. densum observations above are explicitly identified.