Family |
Lamiaceae
Salvia viridis
L.
Salvia viridis L.
First published in Sp. Pl.: 24 (1753).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3, pp. 169–170, Pl. LXXXV, 4; 1983)
Description
Life-form & habit: Pale-green, softly hairy annual herb, 10–40 cm tall, with one or several erect stems, simple or sparingly branched.
Leaves: Ovate or oblong, with rounded teeth and rounded to slightly heart-shaped bases. Lower leaves stalked, upper leaves sessile.
Inflorescence & flowers: Simple racemes with somewhat spaced whorls of four to six flowers. Corolla pale violet, about 1 cm long. Broad, pointed floral bracts persist beside the calyces; in the form formerly called Salvia horminum, the uppermost sterile bracts are enlarged and showy, usually violet, sometimes white or pink.
Fruit: The persistent fruiting calyx enlarges, becomes folded and bends backwards.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: Flowering March–April.
Habitat & elevation: Fields, vineyards and abandoned ground.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Saida, Bir Hassen, Beirut, Tripoli, Litani–Nabatiyeh, Marjayyoun, the Litani gorges near Belat, Ban, Ammiq, Ksara, Zahle, Nahr Aouali, Nahr el Mott, Antelias, Nahr el Kalb, Batroun, Ghazir, Abey, Asfouriyeh, Jamhour, Bihaute, Aley, Tlail and Kornet Chehwan.
Syrian distribution: Aleppo, Banias, Latakia, Tartous, Bhamra, Wadi Qandil, Qalaat el Hosn, Akkari–Tell Kalakh, Abou Douhour, Hamme, Jalline and Heite.
Native range: Albania, Algeria, Baleares, Bulgaria, Cyprus, East Aegean Is., Greece, Iran, Italy, Kriti, Krym, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Morocco, North Caucasus, NW. Balkan Pen., Palestine, Portugal, Sicilia, Spain, Transcaucasus, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Türkiye, Türkiye-in-Europe.
Introduced into: Central European Russia, Czechia-Slovakia, Germany, Great Britain, South European Russia.