Flora of Israel: Crowfoot

Ranunculus scandicinus, Ranunculus marginatus, Ranunculus trachycarpus, Shepherd’s- needle buttercup, Crowfoot,

Hebrew: נורית המלל, Arabic: الحوذان خشن الثمار

Scientific name:   Ranunculus scandicinus (Boiss.) P.H.Davis
Synonym name:   Ranunculus marginatus Dum.-Urville var. scandicinus (Boiss.) Zohary, Ranunculus trachycarpus Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
Common name:   Crowfoot
Hebrew name:   נורית המלל
Arabic name:   الحوذان خشن الثمار
Family:   Ranunculaceae, נוריתיים


Location: Herzliya Winter pool
Life form:   Therophyte, annual
Leaves:   Alternate, dissected twice or more, dentate or serrate
Flowers:   Yellow
Flowering Period:   March, April, May, June, July, August
Habitat:   Humid habitats
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Mediterranean
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Location: Herzliya Winter pool

Derivation of the botanical name:

Ranunculus, rana, “frog”, Ranunculus, “little frog”, literally froglike (from marshy places).

scandicinus, Greek skandix or skandikos which was used by Aristophanes (ca.456 – ca.386 BCE) and Theophrastus (370 — ca.285 BCE), to chervil, which later became the Latin scandix; inus, adjective suffix for nouns: belonging to or resembling; resembling scandix.
marginatus, to furnish with a border; to border, enclose with a margin; margined.
trachycarpus , Greek trachys τραχυϛ , rough, rugged, rocky; carpos, καρποϛ fruit; rough seeded.
The Hebrew name: נורית, nurit, from Aramaic: נוריתא, nurita; נור, nur: to give light, to shine; to burn; Aramaic: נורא ,נור (=fire).

  • The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810–1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician.
  • The standard author abbreviation P. H. Davis is used to indicate Peter H. Davis, Professor of the University of Edinburgh.
  • The standard author abbreviation Dum.-Urville is used to indicate Admiral Jules Sébastien César Dumont d’Urville 1790 – 1842, a French explorer, cartographer, botanist, linguist, writer.
  • The standard author abbreviation Zohary is used to indicate Michael Zohary (1898 – 1983), a pioneering Israeli botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Fisch. is used to indicate – Friedrich Ernst Ludwig von Fischer (1782 – 1854), a Russian botanist, born in Germany.
  • The standard author abbreviation C.A.Mey. is used to indicate Carl Anton von Meyer (1795 – 1855), a Russian botanist and explorer.