Flora of Israel | Arabian Woundwort

Stachys arabica, Stachys macrosperma, Arabian Woundwort,
Hebrew: אשבל ערבי, Arabic: البطنج العربي


Scientific name:		Stachys arabica Hornem.
Synonym name:		Stachys macrosperma Boiss.
Common name:		Arabian Woundwort
Hebrew name:		אשבל ערבי
Arabic name:		البطنج العربي
Family:		Labiatae / Lamiaceae, שפתניים


Life form:		Annual
Stems:		40-80 cm high
Leaves:		Opposite, rosette; Entire; dentate or serrate margin
Flowers:		Hermaphrodite; Lilach corolla 5-lobed with the top lobe forming a ‘hood’; calyx 15 mm long; corolla 20-25 mm long
Fruits / pods:		Nutlets ovoid to oblong, glabrous or rarely pubescent
Flowering Period:		March, April, May
Habitat:		Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:		Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands
Chorotype:		Mediterranean
Summer shedding:		Ephemeral

Derivation of the botanical name:

Stachys, Greek, a spike, relating to a spike.

arabica, of Arabia.
macrosperma, macros μακροϛ, long; tall, high, deep, far; sperma σπερμα, seed, germ; large seed.
The Hebrew name: אשבל, eshbol, a blend of אשכול, eshkol (=cluster), and שבולת, shibolet (=ear of corn).

The standard author abbreviation Hornem. is used to indicate Jens Wilken Hornemann (1770 – 1841), a Danish botanist.
The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810 – 1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician.