Family |
Caryophyllaceae
Telephium imperati subsp. orientale
(Boiss.) Nyman
Telephium imperati subsp. orientale (Boiss.) Nyman
(Consp. Fl. Eur.: 254; 1879 – basionym: Telephium orientale Boiss., Diagn. Pl. Orient. ser. 1, 9: 46; 1849 – Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, Pl. CLXXXIV nº 1; 1969)
• Life-form & habit: Perennial herb, 10–30 cm tall, with a thick, woody rhizome and erect to ascending, often reddish stems. Base woody and branched, forming small, loose tufts.
• Leaves: Alternate, sessile or subsessile, elliptic to obovate, 10–30 × 3–10 mm, entire or slightly denticulate, glabrous above, sparsely pubescent beneath, margin thickened. Basal leaves smaller, spatulate; upper leaves progressively reduced.
• Inflorescence & flowers: Terminal or axillary cymes, few- to many-flowered, dense, forming flat-topped clusters. Flowers small (3–5 mm), pink to purplish-red. Calyx with 5 narrow, acuminate lobes; petals 5, oblong, slightly unequal; stamens 5, inserted at petal base; styles 3, short.
• Fruit: Capsule small, 3–4 mm long, oblong-trigonous, opening by three valves; seeds numerous, minute, brownish, finely reticulate.
• Phenology: Flowers and fruits from May to August.
• Habitat & elevation: Rocky slopes, dry open steppes, and limestone plateaus, 500–1 900 m; grows on thin, stony calcareous soils, often exposed to full sun and drought.
• Lebanese distribution: Recorded by Mouterde from Mount Lebanon and the Beqaa — especially Zahlé, Barouk, Dahr el-Baïdar, and Ras Baalbeck. Locally frequent in arid, open habitats of the montane steppe belt.
• Native to: Afghanistan, Cyprus, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon-Syria, North Caucasus, Pakistan, Sinai, Transcaucasus, Turkmenistan, Türkiye (POWO).
• ⚠️ Taxonomic note: A distinctive subspecies of the Telephium imperati complex, characterised by its reddish stems, entire glabrous leaves, and dense, flat-topped cymes of pink to purplish flowers. It differs from subsp. imperati by its more erect habit, narrower leaves, and smaller flowers. In the Levant, T. imperati subsp. orientale is widespread in dry montane limestone habitats, often co-occurring with xerophytic elements such as Acantholimon, Thymus, and Helianthemum.