Flowers in Israel: Spiny Starwort

Asteriscus spinosus,Pallenis spinosa,
Spiny Starwort, Hebrew: מוצית קוצנית, Arabic: نجمة مريم

Scientific name:   Asteriscus spinosus (L) Schultz Bip.
Synonym name:   Pallenis spinosa (L) Cass.
Common name:   Spiny Starwort
Hebrew name:   מוצית קוצנית
Arabic name:   نجمة مريم
Family:   Compositae / Asteraceae, מורכבים


Life form:   Hemicryptophyte
Stems:   30-60 cm, covered with soft hairs, woody at base, usually branched
Leaves:   Alternate, rosette, entire, dentate or serrate
Flowers:   Orange, yellow
Fruits / pods:   2-2.5mm, pappus of numerous scales
Flowering Period:   April, May, June
Habitat:   Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Mediterranean
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Asteriscus , the Greek word ‘asteriskos’ meaning “small star” in reference to the smaller star shaped flowers.

spinosus, thorny, prickly; crabbed, difficult;
Pallenis , palea (chaff), referring to the chaffy receptacle.
The Hebrew word: מוצית, motzit from מןץ, motz, chaff.

  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
  • The standard author abbreviation Sch.Bip. is used to indicate Carl Heinrich Bipontinus Schultz (1805–1867), (Bipontinus, a Latinized reference to his birthplace- Zweibrücken), a physician and botanist .
  • The standard author abbreviation Cass. is used to indicate – Alexandre Henri Gabriel de Cassini (1781–1832) , a French botanist and naturalist, who specialised in the sunflower family (Asteraceae).