Family |
Asteraceae
Scorzonera mackmeliana
(Boiss.) Zaika, Sukhor. & N.Kilian
Endemic to Lebanon
Gelasia mackmeliana (Boiss.) Zaika, Sukhor. & N.Kilian
≡ Scorzonera mackmeliana Boiss.
(PhytoKeys 137: 58, 2020; Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3, p. 519; 1983)
• Life-form & habit: Dwarf perennial, densely appressed-woolly and canescent, 5–10 cm tall. Rhizome thick, vertical, ramified, scaly. Stem very short, rigid, bearing 1(–3) capitula.
• Leaves: Rigid; basal leaves plane-canaliculate, short, lanceolate-linear to linear, obtuse, narrowly margined.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Capitula small, scarcely exceeding 1 cm, with involucre appressed-woolly like the leaves. Bracts few, spreading, outer ones shorter, inner lanceolate. Florets yellow, reddish outside, exceeding involucre by one-fourth.
• Fruit: Achenes glabrous, short, striate, topped with a reddish pappus longer than the achene body.
• Phenology: Flowers June–September.
• Habitat & elevation: High alpine summits on limestone and dolomitic screes, c. 2,200–3,000 m.
• Lebanese distribution: Mount Lebanon: Jabal Kneissé, Jabal Sannine, Dimane to Yammouné, Col des Cèdres, upper Makmel, Rijal-el-‘Asharah; Anti-Lebanon: above Baalbek; Mount Hermon.
• Native range: Strict endemic to Lebanon and adjacent Anti-Lebanon