Family |
Asteraceae
Picris rhagadioloides
(L.) Desf.
Picris rhagadioloides (L.) Desf.
(Tabl. École Bot.: 89; 1804 – Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, Pl. CCXCVII nº 2; 1969)
• Life-form & habit: Annual or biennial herb, 20–70 cm tall, with an erect, slender, and branched stem exuding milky latex when cut. Plant hispid or bristly, especially along stems and leaves.
• Leaves: Basal leaves oblanceolate to narrowly spatulate, 5–15 × 1–3 cm, coarsely dentate or lobed; cauline leaves smaller, lanceolate, clasping the stem with auriculate bases. Both surfaces rough with stiff, spreading hairs.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Capitula numerous, borne singly on slender peduncles forming a loose corymbose panicle. Involucre cylindrical, 10–15 mm long, covered with rigid, appressed or spreading bristles. Ligulate florets all yellow, sometimes tinged reddish beneath; outer florets often longer than the inner ones. Receptacle naked.
• Fruit: Achenes dimorphic — outer achenes shorter, rough, and without pappus; inner achenes longer, smooth, with a pappus of numerous fine, white, scabrid bristles.
• Phenology: Flowers from March to June; fruits mature from May to July.
• Habitat & elevation: Dry, rocky slopes, open grasslands, roadsides, and disturbed soils on limestone or marl; from sea level up to c. 1 400 m.
• Lebanese distribution: Common throughout Lebanon — coastal plains, Beqaa Valley, and lower mountain slopes; recorded by Mouterde from Beirut, Jezzine, Zahlé, and Barouk, extending eastward to the Anti-Lebanon.
• Native range: Albania, Algeria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, East Aegean Islands, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Kriti, Lebanon–Syria, Libya, NW. Balkan Peninsula, Palestine, Poland, Sinai, Spain, Switzerland, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe (POWO).
• Introduced range: Missouri (POWO).
• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: A variable species within the Picris hieracioides complex, differing by its smaller, more numerous heads and rougher indumentum. Sometimes treated as Helminthotheca rhagadioloides (L.) Holub. Easily recognised by its stiff, bristly texture and bright yellow ligulate florets. A common component of Mediterranean ruderal vegetation and fallow lands.