Flora of Israel: Common Fleabane

Pulicaria dysenterica, Common fleabane,
Hebrew: פרעושית משלשלת, Arabic: رعراع أيوب

Scientific name:   Pulicaria dysenterica (L.) Bernh.
Common name:   Common fleabane
Hebrew name:   פרעושית משלשלת
Arabic name:   رعراع أيوب
Family:   Compositae / Asteraceae, מורכבים


Life form:   Hemicryptophyte
Leaves:   Alternate, entire
Flowers:   Yellow
Flowering Period:   June, July, August, September, October
Habitat:   Humid habitats
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype:   Euro-Siberian – Med – Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:   Perennating


Derivation of the botanical name:

Pulicaria, from the Latin pulex, “a flea”, because it was said to drive away these pests.

dysenterica, reputed to cause dysentery (intestinal disease).
The Hebrew name: פרעושית, paroshit common flea bane (Pulicaria); formed from פרעוש with suffix ית, it, as a loan translation of Pulicaria from Latin pulex (= flea); so called because it is supposed to drive away fleas.

  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
  • The standard author abbreviation Bernh. is used to indicate Johann Jacob Bernhardi (1774 – 1850), a German doctor and botanist.