Flora of Israel | Silene gallica

Silene gallica, Windmill pink, Common Catchfly, Small-flowered Catchfly, French Catchfly, Gunpowder-weed,

Hebrew: ציפורנית צרפתית, Arabic: السيلينة الفرنسية


Scientific name:		Silene gallica L.
Common name:		Windmill pink, Common Catchfly, Small-flowered Catchfly, French Catchfly, Gunpowder-weed
Hebrew name:		ציפורנית צרפתית
Arabic name:		السيلينة الفرنسية
Family:		Caryophyllaceae, ציפורניים

_{Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool}


Life form:		Annual
Leaves:		opposite; entire, smooth margins
Flowers:		Red, pink; hermaphrodite
Flowering Period:		February, March, April
Habitat:		Sand
Distribution:		Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:		Med – Euro-Siberian
Summer shedding:		Ephemeral

_{Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool}
Derivation of the botanical name:

Silene, probably from Greek sialon, “saliva,” referring to gummy exudation on stems, and/or named for Silenus, intoxicated foster-father of Bacchus (god of wine) who was covered with foam, much like the glandular secretions of many species of this genus.

gallica, from France.
The Hebrew name: צפרנית, tsipornit, from ציפורן, tsiporen (Dianthus).

The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.

_{Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool}