Flowers in Israel: Narrow-leaved Asphodel

Asphodelus tenuifolius, Narrow-leaved Asphodel,
Hebrew: עירית צרת-עלים, Arabic: البروَق نحيف الأوراق

Scientific name:   Asphodelus tenuifolius Cav.
Common name:   Narrow-leaved Asphodel
Hebrew name:   עירית צרת-עלים
Arabic name:   البروَق نحيف الأوراق
Family:   Liliaceae, שושניים


Life form:   Annual
Stems:   Erect, glabrous, leafless stems, often branched above
Leaves:   Rosette, entire
Flowers:   White with pink
Fruits / pods:   Nearly globose capsule about 3 mm in diameter
Flowering Period:   February, March, April
Habitat:   Shrub-steppes, Desert
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype:   Saharo-Arabian – Sudanian
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Asphodelus, ασφοδελοϛ, Greek name for this plant. Asphodel means the unsurpassed. The English word “daffodil” is a perversion of “asphodel,” formerly written “affodil.” Some philologists suggest that de name daffodil arose from the Dutch de affodil.

tenuifolius, tenuis, “thin, fine, slim, slender”; folius, leaf; slender leaved.
The Hebrew word: עירית, irit is mentioned in the Tosefta, Shevi’it, 5:17 *Chazal literature, as fodder for domestic animals.

  • The standard author abbreviation Cav. is used to indicate Antonio José Cavanilles (1745–1804), a Spanish taxonomic botanist.