Flowers in Israel: Hollyhock

Alcea dissecta, Althaea dissecta, Hollyhock,
Hebrew: חטמית קרחת , Arabic: الخطمية المقطعة

Scientific name:   Alcea dissecta (Baker) Zohary
Synonym name:   Althaea dissecta Baker
Common name:   Hollyhock
Hebrew name:   חטמית קרחת
Arabic name:   الخطمية المقطعة
Plant Family:   Malvaceae, חלמיתיים


Life form:   Hemicryptophyte
Stems:   2-3m high; hairless stem or a few short tight hairs
Leaves:   Alternate, entire, dentate or serrate
Flowers:   Pink, Violet
Fruits:   Seed-vessel composed of many carpels
Flowering Period:   April, May, June, July
Habitat:   Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Mediterranean
Summer shedding:   Perennating


Derivation of the botanical name:

Alcea, alkaia, αλκεα (Greek), according to Dioscorides: a kind of mallow; a poisonous plant.

dissecta, dis, “between, away from”; sect, “to cut, cut off, cut up; divide, separate”; dissected, deeply divided or cut into numerous segments.
The Hebrew word: חוטמית, chotmit from the “staminal column” or “stamen tube” arising from the centre of the flower, reminiscent of a snout and originates from the name in Arabic, Khatima.

  • The standard author abbreviation Baker is used to indicate John Gilbert Baker (1834 – 1920), an English botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Zohary is used to indicate Michael Zohary (1898 – 1983), a pioneering Israeli botanist

Bible resources:

  1. Job 6:6 Is tasteless food eaten without salt, or is there flavor in the sap of the mallow?

    I refuse to touch it; such food makes me ill.