Family |
Violaceae
Viola libanotica
Boiss.
Endemic to Lebanon
Viola libanotica Boiss.
First published in Diagn. Pl. Orient. 8: 52 (1849).
(Nouvelle Flore du Liban et de la Syrie, vol. 2, p. 533, Pl. CCXXX, 1; 1970)
Description
Life-form & habit: Perennial, 5–10 cm tall, with a thick root divided into several woody stocks, each producing a few leaves and usually one flowering stalk, occasionally two.
Leaves: Long-stalked, with very slender, almost hair-like petioles and very short hairs. Blades slightly leathery, oblong-triangular, with a broadly wedge-shaped base and irregularly scalloped-toothed margins. Stipules short, triangular and membranous.
Inflorescence & flowers: Flowering stalk often shorter than the leaves, sometimes longer, with bristle-like bracteoles some distance below the flower. Sepals lanceolate and somewhat pointed. Corolla unscented, blue-violet, 10–12 mm long; blunt spur extends beyond the sepal appendages.
Fruit: Globular capsule, more or less covered with fine to felted hairs.
Flowering and habitat
Phenology: May–July.
Habitat & elevation: Mountain rocks.
Distribution
Lebanese distribution: Jabal Kneisse, Jabal Sannine, Hasroun, Tannourine, Cedars Pass, Laqlouq, Makmel rocks, above the Cedars, above Ehden forest and below the Cedars summit marker.
Recorded locations: Sannine and Tannourine.
Native range: Central Lebanon in Kew’s range summary; listed under the distribution unit Lebanon-Syria.
⚠️ Taxonomic note:
Mouterde describes this plant as endemic and Kew restricts its range to Central Lebanon. Its Lebanese endemic status requires further corroboration.