Flowers in Israel: Childing pink

Petrorhagia velutina, Petrorhagia dubia, Tunica velutina, Dianthus velutinus, Kohlrauschia velutina, Childing pink, Hairy Pink, Tunica,

Hebrew: חלוק שעיר, Arabic: الزقية المخملية

Scientific name:   Petrorhagia velutina (Guss.) P. W. Ball & Heywood
Synonym name:   Petrorhagia dubia (Raf.) G. Lopez & Romo, Tunica velutina (Guss.) Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
Dianthus velutinus Guss., Kohlrauschia velutina (Guss.) Rchb.
Common name:   Childing pink, Hairy Pink, Tunica
Hebrew name:   חלוק שעיר
Arabic name:   الزقية المخملية
Family:   Caryophyllaceae, ציפורניים


Life form:   Annual
Leaves:   Opposite, entire
Flowers:   Pink
Flowering Period:   February, March, April, May
Habitat:   Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands
Chorotype:   Mediterranean
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Petrorhagia, Greek petros, rock; rhagas, a chink or break, from rhegnymi, to break asunder; meaning “rock fissure” in reference to the habitat of some species.

velutina, velvety.
dubia , doubtful, in the sense of not following the genus pattern.
tunica, an undergarment; in reference to the bracts of the base of the calyx.
Dianthus, probably alteration of Greek diosanthos, carnation: dios, “god”, anthos, “flower”, and was cited by the Greek botanist Theophrastus.
Kohlrauschia, for Henriette Kohlrausch (née Eichmann) (1781 – 1841), a German botanist.
The Hebrew name: חלוק, haluk, tunica, shirt, dressing gown; of uncertain origin; perhaps related to ח ל ק ) ־ smooth), in reference to the bracts of the base of the calyx.

  • The standard author abbreviation Guss. is used to indicate Giovanni Gussone (1787 – 1866), an Italian botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation P.W.Ball is used to indicate Peter William Ball (born 1932), a Canadian botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Heywood is used to indicate Vernon Hilton Heywood (born 1927), a British biologist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Raf. is used to indicate Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (1783 – 1840), a naturalist, born in Turkey, moved to France the year following his birth and Tuscany;U.S.A., Sicily (secretary to the U. S. consul), and U.S.A. becoming a naturalized citizen in 1832.
  • The standard author abbreviation G. López is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
  • The standard author abbreviation Romo is used to indicate Angel Maria Romo (born 1955), a Spanish 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.
  • The standard author abbreviation Rchb. is used to indicate Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach (1793 – 1879), a German botanist and ornithologist.