PlantsMap

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5 plants worth knowing

Lebanon

Lebanon is a land of mountains: two ranges – Mount Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon – are separated by the fertile Beqaa Valley, and peaks over 3,000 m rise above the narrow coast. Mediterranean scrub and stone pine forests grow on the seaward slopes, oaks, firs and junipers higher up, and on the highest ridges the remnants of the famous cedar forests have survived.

Hover over a plant to see on the map where it grows.

where it grows

  1. Lebanon cedar 1

    tree · Emblem on the flag and coat of arms of Lebanon

    Lebanon cedar

    Cedrus libani

    The green cedar on Lebanon’s flag is the tree used to build Solomon’s Temple and Phoenician ships.
  2. Syrian oregano 2

    perennial

    Syrian oregano

    Origanum syriacum

    Without this herb there would be no man’oushe – the flatbread with za’atar and olive oil that all of Lebanon eats for breakfast.
  3. Stone pine 3

    tree

    Stone pine

    Pinus pinea

    Umbrella-shaped stone pines above Beirut yield pine nuts – an essential ingredient of Lebanese kibbeh and rice dishes.
  4. Grapevine 4

    crop

    Grapevine

    Vitis vinifera

    In the Beqaa Valley, where the Romans built a temple to Bacchus, the Middle East’s best-known wines are still made today.
  5. Cilician fir 5

    tree

    Cilician fir

    Abies cilicica

    The Middle East’s southernmost fir grows in Lebanon alongside the cedars on the misty slopes of the north.