Family |
Zygophyllaceae
Peganum harmala
L.
Peganum harmala L.
(First published in Sp. Pl. 1: 444; 1753. Treated in Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, p. 459; 1969)
• Life-form & habit: Perennial glabrous, glaucescent herb or subshrub, 50–100 cm tall. Stems ascending, herbaceous, branched corymbosely.
• Leaves: 5–8 × 3–4 cm, irregularly dissected into narrow linear acute lobes; stipules 3–4 mm, setiform, acute.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Solitary, subsessile or pedunculate, opposite leaves. Sepals linear, foliaceous, acute; petals oblong-elliptic, white, often shorter than sepals; 12–14 stamens inserted at base of a short disk.
• Fruit: Capsule spherical, depressed, 6–7(–10) mm, 3–4-celled, many-seeded.
• Phenology: Flowers April–June.
• Habitat & elevation: Ruderal sites, dry sub-arid steppes, fallow lands.
• Lebanese distribution: Occasional — Nahr el-Kelb, Tripoli-Bahsas, Ras Baalbeck, sources of the Orontes.
• Syrian distribution: Baalbeck, Aleppo (citadel, environs), Hama, Homs, Massiaf, Yabroud, Damascus (including Jabal Qasyoun), Nebk, Bosra, Chahba, Palmyra, Tell Hadid, Tell Chihane, Ouadi ech-Cham.
• Native range: Spain, North Africa, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India. Widely naturalised elsewhere, including parts of Central Asia, China, and introduced in North America and Australia. (POWO)
⚠️ Taxonomic note: A well-known medicinal plant (harmal, Syrian rue) used for its alkaloid-rich seeds (harmine, harmaline). Easily distinguished by its glaucous aspect, deeply dissected leaves, and spherical depressed capsule.