Serratula oligocephala DC. is currently reported as an endemic species of Turkey, where it has limited distribution in east and south Anatolia. Specimens collected from the continental humid slopes beneath the northern summits of the Mount Lebanon Range in the eastern Mediterranean confirm the occurrence of the species in Lebanon. | Turk J Bot 31 (2007) 75-77 © TÜB‹TAK Research Note Serratula oligocephala DC. (Asteraceae), a New Record for the Flora of Lebanon Myrna T. SEMAAN*, Ricardus M. HABER Centre for Environmental Development, Awareness & Research (.), PO Box 967, Jounieh - LEBANON Received: Accepted: Abstract: Serratula oligocephala DC. is currently reported as an endemic species of Turkey, where it has limited distribution in east and south Anatolia. Specimens collected from the continental humid slopes beneath the northern summits of the Mount Lebanon Range in the eastern Mediterranean confirm the occurrence of the species in Lebanon. Key Words: Biodiversity, endemic, flora, Mount Lebanon, Mediterranean Introduction The genus Serratula L. is represented in Lebanon by 3 species (Post, 1932; Feinbrun-Donthan, 1978; Mouterde, 1983). S. cerinthifolia (Sm.) Boissier demonstrates a wide distribution range (Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Turkey, Iran, and Iraq). S. pusilla (Lab.) Dittrich occurs in Lebanon, Cyprus, Syria, and Palestine, while S. mouterdei (Arènes) Dittrich is endemic to Lebanon. On the other hand, 14 species of Serratula are defined within the Flora of Turkey and S. oligocephala DC. is ascribed the status of being endemic to Turkey (Davis & Kupicha, 1975). Its natural distribution is quite limited; it is reported from east and south Anatolia. The ongoing field research in the “Wild Flora Project”, initiated 25 years ago, has already resulted in the discovery of several new species and many described taxa previously unaccounted for among the flora of Lebanon (Haber & Haber, 1993; Semaan & Haber, 1996; Haber & Semaan, 2002, 2004; Semaan & Haber, 2004). Visiting the elevated eastern slopes of the Mount Lebanon range permitted the collection of plant specimens of the genus Serratula L. that were different from the related taxa already described from Lebanon. Upon close inspection of the pertinent literature of several floras (Post, 1932; .
