Flora of Israel | Nerved-Calyx Stachys

Stachys neurocalycina, Nerved-Calyx Stachys,
Hebrew: אשבל מעורק, Arabic: البطنج متعرق الكأسيات

Scientific name:   Stachys neurocalycina Boiss.
Common name:   Nerved-Calyx Stachys
Hebrew name:   אשבל מעורק
Arabic name:   البطنج متعرق الكأسيات
Family:   Labiatae / Lamiaceae, שפתניים


Life form:   Therophyte, annual
Leaves:   Opposite, entire, dentate or serrate
Flowers:   Violet
Flowering Period:   March, April, May
Habitat:   Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Mediterranean
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

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

neurocalycina, neuro, veins or nerves; calycina calyx-like; nerved calyx.
The Hebrew name: אשבל, eshbol, a blend of אשכול, eshkol (=cluster), and שבולת, shibolet (=ear of corn).

  • The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810 – 1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician.