Flora-Fauna

Verbascum cedreti Boiss.

First published in Diagn. Pl. Orient. 12: 19 (1853).

(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 3, p. 213, Pl. CXII, 1 a–c; 1983)

Description

Synonym: Verbascum rascheyanum Boiss.

Life-form & habit: Biennial, 30–80 cm tall, with a dense white felt of hairs, becoming partly or largely hairless. Stems slender, cylindrical, longitudinally ridged and branched.

Leaves: Basal leaves on stalks 1–8 cm long; blades oblong-elliptic or oval, 4–20 × 2–8 cm, variably scalloped, with truncate, slightly heart-shaped or shortly wedge-shaped bases. Stem leaves smaller, pointed or tapering to a long point, scalloped or entire.

Inflorescence & flowers: Narrow, variably loose, branched panicle. Flowers clustered in small umbels of two or three, occasionally up to seven, in the bract axils. Bracts linear or thread-like; flower stalks up to 5 mm, usually without bracteoles. Calyx 3–4 mm long, felted and minutely glandular, with linear lobes. Corolla yellow, 15–30 mm across, with translucent dots and a felted outer surface. Five stamens with centrally attached anthers; filaments yellowish-haired, the upper two hairless at their tips.

Fruit: Oblong-elliptic capsule, 5–7 × 3–4.5 mm, initially felted and becoming hairless.

Flowering and habitat

Phenology: May–August.

Habitat & elevation: Mountains, woodland and fields.

Distribution

Lebanese distribution: Bikfaya, Dhour Choueir, Machmouche near Jezzine, Maasser ech Chouf, Kesba, Kfar Halda towards Douma, Haoura east of Tripoli, Baino, Menges, Fnaideq, Jabal Barouk, Jabal Kneisse, above Ain Zehalta, Sannine, Jisr el Hajar, El Farat, Aitou, Basloukite, Ehden, Bcharre–Cedars, the Cedars, Jourd Tannourine, Dimane, Charbini, Dahr el Khodib, Mount Hermon and Rachaya.

Syrian distribution: Kutchuk Darmik, Jabal ech Chekif, Bloudane, Gharbi, Jabal Halime, Slenfe, Babesqa, El Aremi in the Ghab, west of Sarmada, Mount Hermon and Sale.

Recorded locations: Sannine.

Native range: Lebanon-Syria, Palestine and Türkiye.