Family |
Lamiaceae
Salvia judaica
Boiss.
Leb. Syr. Pal. Jor.
Salvia judaica Boiss.
First published in Diagn. Pl. Orient. 12: 61 (1853).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3, p. 170, Pl. LXXXVI, 1; 1983)
Description
Life-form & habit: Perennial herb with upright stems ending in a branched inflorescence; scattered papillae give the surface a rough texture.
Leaves: Wrinkled and blistered, with rounded or wavy teeth. Basal leaves stalked and deeply pinnately divided, with blunt, ovate lateral segments and a larger, more or less heart-shaped terminal segment. Floral bracts very small, membranous, oblong and pointed.
Inflorescence & flowers: Long, spaced racemes with whorls of six to twelve or more flowers. Calyx red, rough and two-lipped; upper lip longer and three-toothed, lower lip with two slender teeth. Corolla violet, about 10 mm long, its tube remaining within the calyx.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: Flowering May–June.
Habitat & elevation: Fields, pastures and roadsides.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Wadi el Kfour near Saida, south of Saida, Ras Beirut, Nahr el Kalb, Ras Chekka, Maameltein, Tripoli, Ain Besabba, Chekka–Hamate, Jabal Terbol, Beit Meri, Brichtein, the Chahtoul road, Araya, Jamhour, Deir el Qamar, below Baskinta, Tourzaya and Kornet Chehwan.
Syrian distribution: Latakia, Slenfe, Bassit woods, the Kessab road and Jabal Aqra.
Native range: Lebanon-Syria, Palestine.