Family |
Lamiaceae
Stachys nivea
Labill.
Leb. Syr.
Stachys nivea Labill.
(First published in Icon. Pl. Syr. 3: 5; 1809)
Description
Life-form & habit: Suffruticose at the base, 30–40 cm tall, entirely covered with a dense white-woolly indumentum.
Leaves: Subsessile, entire; venation strongly raised beneath. Lower leaves attenuate at base; floral leaves lanceolate, somewhat acute, exceeding the flowers.
Inflorescence & flowers: Pseudo-verticils numerous, with 4–6 flowers, either subdistant or close-set into long spikes. Bracts absent or very short. Calyx white, tubular-campanulate; teeth triangular-lanceolate, muticous, three times shorter than the tube. Corolla white, 10–12 mm, pubescent, tube included.
Fruit: Nutlets not described in detail by Mouterde.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: Flowers April–August.
Habitat & elevation: Rocky ground, montane to subalpine.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Yammouné, Zahlé, Deir el-Ahmar, Baalbeck, ‘Aïn Bourdai, Baalbeck–Ras Baalbeck, Yanta, Rachaya, Ouadi el-Harir.
Syrian distribution: Bloudane, Talaat Moussa, Ma‘loula–Saïdnaya, Qastal, Jabal Qasyoun, Doummar, Ouadi Barada, Mayssaloun, Sahl-es-Sahra, environs of Damascus.
Native range: Endemic to the Levant (Lebanon and western Syria).