Family |
Resedaceae
Reseda orientalis
(Müll.Arg.) Boiss.
Reseda orientalis (Müll.Arg.) Boiss.
First published in Fl. Orient. 1: 427 (1867).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, pp. 176–177, Pl. LXV, 5; 1970)
Description
Life-form & habit: Rough, papillose herb with prostrate or ascending stems, 10–60 cm long.
Leaves: Lanceolate, entire or divided into three lobes.
Inflorescence & flowers: Slightly scented flowers on stalks longer than the calyx, becoming spreading and finally curved after flowering. White, finely divided petals are shorter than the linear sepals; anthers are red.
Fruit: Oblong capsule, 8–10 mm long, wedge-shaped at the base.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: Flowering January–April.
Habitat & elevation: Basalt, coastal sand and sandstone, often near cultivated ground.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Damour, Khalde, Bir Hassan, Beirut, Bouchriye, Tripoli, above Nibaye, Khoueikhate, Menges and Qornet el Hamra.
Syrian distribution: Tartous, south of Banias and between Banias and Latakia.
Native range: Cyprus, Egypt, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Palestine, Sinai, Türkiye.
⚠️ Taxonomic note:
Mouterde prints the author as L.; the exact accepted Kew record gives (Müll.Arg.) Boiss., based on Reseda macrosperma var. orientalis Müll.Arg.