Flora-Fauna

Stachys cretica L. subsp. vacillans (Rech.f.)

≡ Stachys eretica L. subsp. vacillans Rech.f. (name used by Mouterde, Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3, p. 147; Pl. LXX nº 1; 1983)
(First published in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 71: 536; 1941)

• Life-form & habit: Perennial herb, tomentose-canescente to woolly; stems erect, simple, 30–60 cm.
• Leaves: Lower leaves oblong to linear-oblong, attenuate at base, pubescent; upper floral leaves oblong-triangular to lanceolate, sessile, subtending verticillasters.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Pseudoverticils spaced, 4–8-flowered. Calyx woolly, slightly oblique at the throat, teeth triangular-lanceolate, equal to tube, shortly spiny. Corolla pink, tube included; upper lip straight, retuse, villous.
• Fruit: Nutlets ovoid, smooth, brown.
• Phenology: Flowers April–August.
• Habitat & elevation: Rocky slopes, scrub, and montane clearings.
• Lebanese distribution: Nahr el-Kelb, Moukhtara, ‘Aley, Bhamdoun, Sofar, ‘Arbaniyé, Jezzine, Jabal Terbol, Bikfaya, Rayfoun, Feitroun, Faraya, Mayrouba, ‘Aqoura, Afqa, Baskinta, Hasroun, Cedars of Hadeth, Dimane, Bechnata, Cedars of Bsharré, Rachaya, Qoubbayat, Zahlé, Ouadi-el-‘Arayech.
• Syrian distribution: Anti-Lebanon (Ma‘loula, Bloudane, Serghaya, Hermon), Qala‘at el-Hosn, Slenfé, Bhamra, Qadmous, Jabal Druze, Aleppo, Damascus region.
• Native range (POWO): Lebanon–Syria, Palestine, Turkey.

⚠️ Taxonomic note: Treated by Mouterde (1983) under Stachys eretica subsp. vacillans. Molecular and morphological studies (WCVP/POWO) confirm its placement as a subspecies of S. cretica. Recognized by its tomentose-woolly indumentum, oblique calyx throat, and pink corollas.