Flora-Fauna

Roemeria minor (Boivin) Banfi, Bartolucci, J.-M.Tison & Galasso

First published in Nat. Hist. Sci. 9(1): 68 (2021).

(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, pp. 68–69, under Papaver argemone including P. belangeri; Pl. XXVII, figs. 4–5)

Description

Synonyms: Papaver belangeri Boiss.; Papaver minus (Boivin) Meikle; basionym Closterandra minor Boivin.

Morphology — historical treatment: Mouterde’s combined Papaver argemone–P. belangeri account describes a green, variably hairy annual, usually with several stems, 10–30 cm tall. Stems spreading or ascending, with spreading or erect bristles; leaves hispid on both faces or becoming glabrous. Buds ovoid to oblong-ovoid; sepals green. Corolla 3–4 cm across, with oblong-ovate, pale vermilion-red petals bearing a violet basal blotch. Stamens as long as the ovary, with thickened filaments and ovoid to nearly globose anthers. Capsule narrowly oblong-cylindrical, tapering at the ends or not, densely bristly, sparsely bristly or glabrous, with 4–6 prominent longitudinal ribs. Stigmatic disc hemispherical, usually slightly narrower than the capsule, with 4–6 stigmas. These measurements describe Mouterde’s broad historical concept, not a separately delimited diagnosis of modern Roemeria minor.

Flowering and habitat

Flowering — historical treatment: March–May in Mouterde’s combined account.

Habitat and elevation — historical treatment: Fields, wooded places and rocks. No numerical elevation range is supplied in this account.

Distribution

Historical localities in Lebanon and adjacent border regions: Bikfaya (glabrous-fruited form); Aïn Zehalta; Roueissat; Afqa; Yammouné to Chlifa; Rayak; Aïha to Rakhlé; Ouadi-el-Harir. These are the localities of Mouterde’s combined treatment and have not all been reassigned to modern R. minor.

Historical localities in Syria: Alep; Aïn Tell; Ouadi-el-Qam; Yabroud; Zebdani; Madaya; Qrayé–Kafer; Soueida; Sanamein; Damas; Aïn Khadra; Jabal Bichri; south of Soukhné; Forkhlos. The same historical-taxonomy qualification applies.

Recorded location: Sannine.

Native range: Crimea and the eastern Mediterranean eastwards to the Caucasus and Iran. POWO lists Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Crimea, Lebanon-Syria, North Caucasus, Palestine, Sinai, Transcaucasus and Türkiye.

⚠️ Taxonomic note:

Identification as Roemeria minor is provisional; the earlier R. argemone identification is not retained. Mouterde explicitly mentions Papaver belangeri Boiss. under P. argemone (vol. 2, pp. 68–69), regarding it as poorly developed plants, smaller in all their parts, rather than a clearly delimited variety. POWO now places P. belangeri under the accepted species Roemeria minor. Mouterde therefore mentions the synonym but does not recognize the modern species separately; his combined description and localities should not be assigned uncritically to either modern species. POWO includes Lebanon-Syria in the native range of R. minor, so the earlier suggestion of introduction made under the R. argemone identification is not carried forward as an established status for this revised record.