Family |
Polygonaceae
Rumex nepalensis
Spreng.
Rumex nepalensis Spreng.
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 1, Pl. CXXIX nº 2; 1966)
• Life-form & habit: Robust perennial herb with thickened roots and erect, branched stems up to or exceeding 1 m tall; branches spreading or ascending.
• Leaves: Basal leaves oblong, cordate at the base, petiolate, slightly acute at apex; upper leaves subsessile, lanceolate, attenuate at the base.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Verticillate clusters well separated; pedicels articulated above the middle, recurved in fruit, equalling the fruit; outer sepals short and spreading. Valves ovate-orbicular, strongly reticulate, bordered by a continuous fringe of numerous subulate teeth ending in a minute hook; each or all three valves bearing an oval, reticulate callosity.
• Fruit: Achene enclosed in the persistent valves.
• Phenology: Flowers and fruits from April to June.
• Habitat & elevation: Moist meadows, mountain pastures, and stream banks, often in shaded or disturbed areas; from montane to subalpine zones.
• Lebanese distribution: Found in Feitroun, ʿAzibi near Jezzine, Tourza, Bhamdoun, Jisr el-Hajar, base and summit of Jabal Kneissé, Ehden, ʿAïn Saouaʿir, Sannine, Nebaʿ el-Hadid, Cedars of Barouk, and the Col des Cèdres .
• Native range: Afghanistan, Albania, Assam, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, China (North-Central, South-Central, Southeast), DR Congo, East Himalaya, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Free State, Greece, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Java, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Lebanon–Syria, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Myanmar, Nepal, Northern Provinces, NW. Balkan Peninsula, Pakistan, Qinghai, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan–South Sudan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tibet, Türkiye, Uganda, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Yemen, Zimbabwe.
• Introduced into: Angola (POWO).
• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: Hybrid forms with R. chalepensis were observed by Bornmüller near Sannine and later described by Rech. f. as “R. şannineus,” distinct from R. autranianus Freyn & Sint.