Family |
Iridaceae
Romulea bulbocodium
(L.) Sebast. & Mauri
Romulea bulbocodium (L.) Sebast. & Mauri
First published in Fl. Roman. Prodr.: 17 (1818).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 1, pp. 320–321, Pl. C, 4; 1966)
• Life-form & habit: Perennial with a corm enclosed in brown, leathery, cracked tunics. Slender flowering stems, erect or bent, are shorter than the leaves and bear 1–6 flowers.
• Leaves: Narrow, grooved, 10–30 cm long, with long sheathing bases and blades curving backward.
• Inflorescence & flowers: The lower spathe is herbaceous with a narrow scarious margin; the upper is translucent and scarious except along its keel. Flowers have a yellow throat extending up the segments, whose upper parts may be pale lilac, blue, pink or white. Perianth segments are 12–30 mm long, commonly about 20 mm. Anthers are yellow or white, shorter than the style.
• Fruit: Blunt, oval-oblong capsule.
• Phenology: Flowering from late December to April, or later in the mountains.
• Habitat & elevation: A wide variety of ground, from coastal sites into the mountains.
• Lebanese distribution: Saida, Cap Sahre, Khalde, Borj Brajne, Beirut, Ras Beirut, Jounieh, Tripoli, Skandaroune, Qaitoule–Jezzine, Joun, Deir Moukhalles, Abey, Antoura, Ras el Metn, Barsaf, Bikfaya, Ghosta, Ghazir, Towmat Jezzine, Nahr Safa, Nebaa Barouk, Mdeirej, Baskinta, Jourd Tannourine, Kneisse, the Cedars, Rmaiche, Zahle, Taanayel, Menges, Qoubbayat, Fraikeh, Bqaatouta and Bherdok.
• Syrian distribution: Banias–Tartous, Safita, Haffe–Slenfe, Slenfe, signal Rouadi, Ain Haramiye, near Kessab, Wadi el Qarn, Jdeidet Yabous, Homs, Soueida–Sale, Er Raha, Bedouins Spring, Hamme, north of Qneitra and Khisfine.
• Native range: Albania, Algeria, Bulgaria, Corse, East Aegean Is., France, Greece, Italy, Kriti, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Morocco, NW. Balkan Pen., Palestine, Portugal, Sardegna, Sicilia, Spain, Tunisia, Türkiye.
• Introduced into: Great Britain.