Family |
Apiaceae
Prangos asperula
Boiss.
Prangos asperula Boiss.
First published in Diagn. Pl. Orient. 10: 54 (1849).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, pp. 617–618, Pl. CCLXXXI, 1; 1970)
• Life-form & habit: Perennial, often with several angular stems, 80–100 cm tall, branching oppositely or in approximate whorls.
• Leaves: Green and roughened by small papillae. Large basal leaves have an oblong outline and are finely divided into linear or threadlike segments; stem leaves have longer, narrow divisions.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Yellow flowers in umbels with ten to twelve rays, sometimes slightly rough. The involucral bracts are threadlike, and the petals are minutely hairy on their outer surface.
• Fruit: Yellowish, oblong fruit reaching 2 cm or more, with prominent, winged dorsal ribs that are strongly wavy.
• Phenology: Flowering May–June.
• Habitat & elevation: Mountain slopes.
• Lebanese distribution: Mdeirej, east of Douma, Dahr el Baidar, Khan Sannine, Sannine, Jabal Kneisse, Jourd Hadeth, Tannourine, Ehden, Khan Mourad, Taanayel and Kaoukaba.
• Syrian distribution: Bloudan and Wadi el Qarn.
• Native range: Iran, Iraq, Lebanon-Syria, Palestine.
⚠️ Taxonomic note: Mouterde distinguished this species from Cachrys goniocarpa, now included by Kew in Prangos ferulacea, chiefly by its winged, strongly wavy fruit ribs. His restricted-range assessment differs from Kew's current species-level distribution, which includes Iran and Iraq through subsp. haussknechtii. The site's endemic checklist could not be verified; no Lebanese endemism claim is made here.