Family |
Poaceae
Stipa arabica
Poaceae
Stipa arabica Trin. & Rupr.
First published in Sp. Gram. Stipac.: 77 (1842).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 1, pp. 54–55, under Stipa barbata subsp. damascena, Pl. XVIII, 3 for the broader account; 1966)
Description
Synonyms: Stipa damascena Boiss.; Stipa barbata subsp. damascena (Boiss.) Mouterde.
Life-form & habit: Tufted perennial. In Mouterde’s broader Stipa barbata account, erect, hairless stems reach or exceed 1 m and are enclosed by leaf sheaths up to the panicle.
Leaves: Sheaths ridged and hairless, rough, with translucent margins; ligule oval and blunt, finely fringed with hairs. Blades very slender and folded lengthwise.
Inflorescence & flowers: Panicle enclosed at its base by the uppermost sheath, with fine, erect branches. Glumes membranous, linear-lanceolate, tapering to long, soft points; the upper glume slightly shorter. Lemma rolled into a cylinder, with short hairs; palea hardened and channelled. Mouterde distinguishes subsp. damascena from typical S. barbata by the lower part of the bent awn: below the bend it is rough and lightly hairy rather than feathery; above the bend it is feathery. His historical description includes awns around 15 cm long.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: March–June in the regional account.
Habitat & elevation: Pastures in mountains and in semi-arid or arid regions; the original damascena locality is on very dry hills near Damascus.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Mouterde’s regional account lists Jabal Kneisse, Jabal Barouk, Ain Saouair, the Cedars, Bqerqacha, Chtaura, Zahle, Rachaya, Hasbaya, Wadi el Harir and Baalbeck. These are historical records from his broader treatment.
Syrian distribution: The same historical treatment lists Jabal Halime, Yabroud, Qornet el Masaadi, Wadi el Qarn, Souq Wadi Barada, Jdeide–Mayssaloun, Damascus, Jabal Qasyoun, the Qneitra road, Tell Qouleib, above Sale, Chahba, Ras el Ain, Bara-Khatouniye, Jabal Abd el Aziz, south of Hassetché, Jabal Abou Qosh, east of Aleppo and south of Qaryatein.
Recorded locations: Sannine.
Native range: Afghanistan, India, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Lebanon-Syria, North Caucasus, Pakistan, Palestine, Sinai, South European Russia, Tadzhikistan, Tibet, Transcaucasus, Turkmenistan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan, West Himalaya and Xinjiang.
⚠️ Taxonomic note:
Kew places Stipa damascena and S. barbata subsp. damascena in S. arabica. Mouterde also associated S. assyriaca with damascena, whereas Kew lists S. × assyriaca separately; that historical equation is not adopted here. The regional locality list is therefore retained as a historical account requiring modern redetermination, and the records explicitly assigned to Mouterde’s var. paboti are excluded.