8.

Fig. 15

Celsia melhanensis Murb. in Lunds Univ. Arsskrift, n. f. xxii. No. 1, 155 (1925).

Type.

Yemen, Über Menacha, 23 February 1889, G. Schweinfurth 1561 (lectotype K designated here).

Description.

Biennial herb, dark green to purple, simple or branched from above, up to 90 cm tall. Indumentum sparse glandular hairs. Stems erect, terete to angular. Basal leaves rosette, oblong-ovate, 4–15 × 2–5 cm, apex obtuse, base cordate-truncate, margins crenate-serrate, lamina shiny green with sparse simple hairs on the veins below; petiole 2–6 cm, winged with a few lateral lobes. Cauline leaves oblong-ovate, 2–6 × 1–3 cm, apex obtuse, base cordate-truncate; sessile or petiole up to 1 cm. Inflorescence racemose; flowers single in the axil of bracts. Upper bracts lanceolate or triangular-ovate, 3–5.2 mm, acute. Lower bracts triangular-ovate, 10–25 mm, acute-attenuate. Pedicel covered with sparse glandular hairs up to 20 mm long. Bracteoles absent. Calyx 4–5 mm, lobes oblong, mucronate, sparse glandular. Corolla 20–25 mm across, yellow with dark-red streaks on the upper side, without pellucid glands, tube up to 1 mm, sparse papillose hairs inside, sparse glandular hairs outside. Stamens 4, 10–12 mm long. Filaments yellow to red with yellowish-violet to red hairs, two anterior glabrous, two shorter posteriors with hairs up to the anthers. Anthers two anterior inserted decurrent longitudinally on filaments, two shorter posteriors with reniform anthers. Ovary pyriform-ovoid, sparse glandular hairs. Style up to 22 mm long, filiform, green. Stigma capitate. Capsule 5–8 × 4–6 mm, pyriform-ovoid, sparse glandular hairs. Seeds bothrospermous.

Distribution in the Arabian Peninsula.

It is an endemic species to the Arabian Peninsula, which is known from Saudi Arabia in Al-Baha (King Khalid Road between Qilwah and Al-Baha, Heznah Road between Al-Makhwah and Baljurashi, and Wadi Turbah), Abha (Jabal Mna’a Tanomah, Al-Samma Road, Sinan Road between Al-Namas and Al-Majaradah, Raidah Sanctuary, Near Mahyar Park Tanomah, and Borma’a Road between Tanomah and Bariq), and Jizan (Jabal Fayfa, Jabal Habbes, and Jabal Al-Hasher), and from Yemen in Saada (Jabal Razih and Jabal Marran), Amran (Shaharah), Al-Mahwit (Jabal Melhan), Sana’a (Jabal Masar), and Hajjah (Jabal Nasira), southwestern Arabian Peninsula (Fig. 16).

Ecology.

Verbascum melhanense grows on mountain cliffs, terrace walls, rocky slopes, granite crevices, and wadi banks at altitudinal ranges from 1600 to 2600 m. Associated plants include Coleus barbatus (Andrews) Benth. ex G. Don, Commelina forskaolii Vahl, Crassula schimperi Fisch. & C. A. Mey., Cyperus cruentus Rottb., Dodonaea viscosa subsp. angustifolia (L. f.) J. G. West, Erigeron bonariensis L., Ocimum serpyllifolium Forssk., Oxalis corniculata L., Pelargonium multibracteatum Hochst. ex A. Rich., Selaginella yemensis (Sw.) Spring, Solanum incanum L., and Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal.

Phenology.

Flowering and fruiting throughout year.

Etymology.

The name refers to Jabal Melhan, known locally in Arabic as “ Mel ḥan. ”

Specimens examined.

Saudi Arabia. • Abha: Tanomah, about 15 km south of Al-Namas, 10 April 1977, I. S. Collenette 250 (K); Tanomah, 15 km south of Al-Namas, Abha, 13 April 1979, I. S. Collenette 1360 (K); between Al-Namas and Tanomah, Tanomah, 07 June 2000, Taku Miyazaki 000607 II 34 (E [E 00614718]); Aqabat Al-Samma to Wadi Al-Ouse, NW of Abha, 06 January 1981, A. K. Nasher IH 153 (E [E 00066915]); Wadi Al-Ouse, Abha, 13 May 1981, I. S. Collenette 2692 (E [E 00066925]); Raidah Sanctuary, Abha, 09 February 2001, Taku Miyazaki 010209 RI (E [E 00614685]); Asir, above Abha, 1946, W. Thesiger s. n. (BM); Wadi Al-Ouse, 01 November 1987, S. Chaudhary 12315 (RIY); Raidah Sanctuary, 21 June 1996, S. Chaudhary 15523 (RIY); Raidah Sanctuary, 29 April 1998, T. Al-Turki & I. S. Collenette 2610 & 2550 (KSU); Raidah Sanctuary, 21 May 1998, A. Alfarhan & J. Thomas 4840 (KSU); Raidah Sanctuary, 06 July 2007, A. Alfarhan & J. Thomas 6272 (KSU); Raidah Sanctuary, 21 May 1998, A. Alfarhan & J. Thomas 6013 (KSU). • Jizan: Jabal Fayfa, about 100 km NE of Jizan, 20 November 1981, I. S. Collenette 3164 (E [E 00066919], K); Jabal Fayfa, 20 November 1981, S. Chaudhary 998 (RIY); Jabal Fayfa, Jizan, 06 March 1979, S. Chaudhary 6778 (RIY); Jabal Habbes, near Bani Malik, Jazan, 26 January 2002, T. Al-Turki & J. Thomas 20383 (KSU); Jabal Fayfa, 19 January 1995, M. Ibrahim 1827 (KSU). • Al-Baha: King Khalid Road, NW of Al-Baha, 15 May 1992, I. S. Collenette 8227 (E [E 01000559], K); King Khalid Road between Qilwah and Al-Baha, 13 March 2021, A. Alzahrani 164 (MUZ).

Yemen. • Sana’a: Über Menacha, 23 February 1889, G. Schweinfurth 1561 (K); Jabal Masar, Haraz, 08 June 1979, J. R. I. Wood 2835 (BM, E [E 00066924], K). • Al-Mahwit: Jabal Melhan, 15 June 1979, J. R. I. Wood 2864 (K). Amran: Shaharah, 13 November 1981, J. R. I. Wood 3384 (BM, K). • Saada: Jabal Marran, 31 October 1979, J. R. I. Wood 3036 (K). • Hajjah: Jabal Nasira, 08 October 1982, K. Muller-Hohenstein & U. Deil 705 (E [E 00066913]).

Notes.

Verbascum melhanense is morphologically similar to V. bottae (see under the latter), but phylogenetic analyses (Alzahrani et al. 2024) support its recognition as a distinct species.

The original material of this species cited by Murbeck (1925) includes the collection Schweinfurth 1561 from Yemen. Among the available duplicates, the specimen at K is the most complete and best preserved and matches the protologue in all diagnostic characters. To ensure nomenclatural stability, the specimen at K is designated here as the lectotype.