Flora of Israel | Sixalix arenaria

Sixalix arenaria, Scabiosa arenaria, Scabiosa rhizantha,
נזרית חופית ,תגית חופית

Scientific name:   Sixalix arenaria (Forssk.) Greuter & Burdet
Synonym name:   Scabiosa arenaria Forssk., Scabiosa rhizantha Viv.
Common name:   No common names recorded
Hebrew name:   נזרית חופית ,תגית חופית
Plant Family:   Dipsacaceae, שלמוניים


Life form:   Therophyte, annual
Leaves:   Opposite, dissected, pinnate
Flowers:   Lilach, white
Flowering Period:   April, May
Habitat:   Sand
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes
Chorotype:   Saharo-Arabian
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Sixalix, based on a name without definite rank.

arenaria, arena, sand; slime, mud; relating to sand.
Scabiosa, Latin scabies, “the itch,” which the rough (scurfy) leaves might have been used to cure.
rhizantha, rhiz-, pertaining to roots; rhizanthus, flowering on the root or seeming to do so.
The Hebrew name: נזרית, nezirit / תגית, tagit, scabiosa.

  • The standard author abbreviation Forssk. is used to indicate Peter Forsskål (1732 – 1763), a Swedish explorer, orientalist and naturalist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Greuter is used to indicate Werner Rodolfo Greuter (born 1938), aa Swiss national, and prominent botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Burdet is used to indicate Hervé Maurice Burdet (born 1939), a Swiss botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Viv. is used to indicate Domenico Viviani (1772 – 1840), a professor of botany at Genoa.

Location: Bene Zion Nature Reserve