Flowers in Israel: Snapdragon

Antirrhinum siculum, Antirrhinum angustifolium, Snapdragon,
Hebrew: לוע-ארי סיצילי, Arabic: فم السمكة الصقلي

Scientific name: Antirrhinum siculum Mill.
Scientific name: Antirrhinum angustifolium Poir.
Common name: Snapdragon
Hebrew name: לוע-ארי סיצילי
Arabic name: فم السمكة الصقلي
Family: Scrophulariaceae, לועניתיים

Life form: Chamaephyte
Stems: green glabrous, erect stems of about 20-50cm, basal branching, hirsute; main stem possess a yellow-cream inflorescence at the top
Leaves: Alternate, entire
Flowers: Short-stalked racemes; 5 sepals; white, cream and yellow bilaterally symmetrical corolla, 4 stamens,simple pistil
Fruits / pods: Beige, indehiscent poricidal capsule; about 1mm long, dark reddish brown, oval seed
Flowering Period: March, April, May, June
Habitat: Walls
Distribution: Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype: Mediterranean
Summer shedding: Perennating


Derivation of the botanical name:Antirrhinum, from Greek anti (αντι), “like,” and rhis (ριϛ, ινοϛ), “nose”, inus (-ινοϛ), probably referring to the nose-like capsule in its mature state.

siculum, Siculus, of or pertaining to Sicily, Sicilian.
angustifolium, angustus, “drawn together, narrow”; folium, leaf; meaning narrow leaved.
The Romans called it leonis ora, or “lion’s mouth.” The Old French word for Snapdragon was muflier, or “snout”; the Italians called the flower bocca de leone, and the Germans Löwenmäul, which both mean “lion’s mouth.”
The Hebrew word: לוע-ארי, loah-arie, “lion’s mouth.”

  • The standard author abbreviation Mill. is used to indicate Philip Miller (1691 – 1771), a botanist of Scottish descent.
  • The standard author abbreviation Poir. is used to indicate Jean Louis Marie Poiret (1755 – 1834), a French clergyman, botanist and explorer.