Flowers in Israel: Pink Mustard

Erucaria microcarpa, Reboudia pinnata, Pink Mustard,
Hebrew: בן-שלח מנוצה

Scientific name:   Erucaria microcarpa Boiss.
Synonym name:   Reboudia pinnata (Viv.)O.E.Schulz
Common name:   Pink Mustard
Hebrew name:   בן-שלח מנוצה
Plant Family:   Cruciferae / Brassicaceae, מצליבים


Life form:   Therophyte, annual
Stems:   Glabrous to sparsely hairy
Leaves:   Alternate, dissected twice or more, dentate or serrate
Inflorescence:   Naked racemes
Flowers:   Pink
Fruits / pods:   Loments (type of schizocarp), indehiscent, heteroarthrocarpic fruits; hetero-mericarp dispersal strategy
Flowering Period:   January, February, March, April
Habitat:   Shrub-steppes, Desert
Distribution:   The Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype:   Saharo-Arabian
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Erucaria, Latin, eruca, rocket, cruciformous herb; arius, Latin suffix, pertaining to.

microcarpa, micro, “small”; -carpa, -fruit; meaning small-fruited.
pinnata, feathered, winged; pinnate.
The Hebrew name: שלח, shelach, so called because it resembles a short sword (שלח).

  • The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810 – 1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician.
  • The standard author abbreviation Viv. is used to indicate Domenico Viviani (1772 – 1840), an Italian botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation O.E.Schulz is used to indicate Otto Eugen Schulz (1874 – 1936), a German botanist.