Family |
Resedaceae
Reseda lutea
L.
Reseda lutea L.
(First published in Sp. Pl.: 449; 1753. Treated in Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, p. 187; 1969)
• Life-form & habit: Perennial or biennial, 30–70 cm, with stout, branched stems.
• Leaves: Lower leaves lyrate-pinnatifid with oblong lobes, terminal segment larger; upper leaves linear to narrowly lanceolate, entire or denticulate.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Racemes dense at anthesis, later elongating; flowers greenish-yellow; upper petal conspicuously lobed.
• Fruit: Capsule oblong, 8–15 mm, dehiscing by 3 valves; seeds numerous, blackish, reticulate.
• Phenology: Flowers March–June.
• Habitat & elevation: Ruderal habitats, field margins, stony slopes.
• Lebanese distribution: Frequent — coastal plain, middle mountains, Bekaa, Anti-Lebanon.
• Syrian distribution: Common — Aleppo, Damascus, Palmyra, Jabal Druze, Latakia.
• Native range (POWO/WCVP):
– Africa: Macaronesia (Canary Islands); Northern Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Western Sahara); Southern Africa (Cape Provinces, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Northern Provinces).
– Asia (Temperate): Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia); Caucasus (North Caucasus, Transcaucasus); Middle Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan); Western Asia (Cyprus, East Aegean Islands, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon–Syria, Palestine, Sinai, Turkey).
– Europe: Eastern Europe (Crimea, South European Russia, Ukraine); Middle Europe (Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland); Northern Europe (Great Britain, Ireland); Southeastern Europe (Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Crete, Romania, European Turkey, former Yugoslavia); Southwestern Europe (Balearic Islands, Corsica, France, Portugal, Spain).
• Introduced:
– Asia (Temperate): China (Manchuria), Russian Far East (Primorye), Siberia (Krasnoyarsk).
– Australasia: Australia (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia).
– Europe: Eastern Europe (Baltic States, Belarus, Central, East & North European Russia); Northern Europe (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden).
– North America: Eastern Canada (Ontario); Western Canada (British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan); USA — North-Central (Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin), Northeastern (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia), Northwestern (Colorado, Montana, Oregon, Wyoming), Southeastern (Alabama, Arkansas, District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland), Southwestern (California, Utah).
– South America: Western South America (Bolivia, Ecuador).
⚠️ Taxonomic note: Distinguished from R. alba by its perennial habit, stouter stems, and larger capsules; both species overlap widely in ruderal habitats across the Levant.