Family |
Iridaceae
Romulea phoenicia
Mouterde
Endemic to Lebanon
Romulea phoenicia Mouterde
First published in Bull. Soc. Bot. France 100: 349 (1953).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 1, p. 321, Pl. C, 6; 1966)
Description
Life-form & habit: Small perennial with a corm enclosed in brown, leathery tunics and a short, erect stem bearing 1–3 flowers.
Leaves: Linear, reaching 20 cm and two to three times the length of the flowering stem.
Inflorescence & flowers: The lower spathe is green and herbaceous with a narrow purple margin; the shorter upper spathe is scarious and pale purple. Flowers have a very short tube, pink segments above a yellow throat, yellow anthers and a style shorter than the anthers.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: Flowering January–April, depending on altitude.
Habitat & elevation: Sandstone ground.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Beit Meri below Deir el Qalaa, below Beit Meri above Bouchriye, Broummana, Ras el Metn, Deir el Harf, Dhour Choueir, Bikfaya, Mayrouba, Zahle pass and Kfertay.
Native range: Lebanon-Syria.
⚠️ Taxonomic note:
Kew describes the native range as central Lebanon. Verification against the site's Lebanese endemic-flora list was unavailable; Lebanese endemism is therefore not confirmed here.