Flora of Israel: Sisymbrium irio

Sisymbrium irio, London Rocket, Wild Mustard,
Hebrew: תודרה סייגית, Arabic: شليات حويرة, Egypt: فجل إل-جمل “Figl El-Gamal”

Scientific name:   Sisymbrium irio L.
Common name:   London Rocket, Wild Mustard
Hebrew name:   תודרה סייגית
Arabic name:   شليات حويرة
Egypt:   فجل إل-جمل “Figl El-Gamal”
Family:   Cruciferae / Brassicaceae, מצליבים


Location: Jaffo, Old City

Life form:   Annual
Leaves:   Alternate, dissected, dentate or serrate
Flowers:   Hermaphrodite, yellow
Fruits / pods:   Long, slender, seed pods
Flowering Period:   January, February, March, April, May
Habitat:   Nutrient-rich soils, ruderal
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype:   Med – Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Location: Jaffo, Old City

Derivation of the botanical name:

Sisymbrium, Latinized ancient Greek name used by Dioscorides and Pliny for various species of mustard.

irio, an old reference to a kind of cress.
London Rocket, first noted by 17th century botanists as growing in great abundance following the great fire of London in 1666.
The Hebrew name: תודרה, tudra, sisymbrium.

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