Flowers of Israel: Mediterranean Stinkbush

Anagyris foetida, Stinking bean trefoil, Mediterranean Stinkbush,
Hebrew: צחנן מבאיש, Arabic: خروب الخنازير , السلمون

Scientific name:   Anagyris foetida L.
Common name:   Mediterranean Stinkbush, Stinking bean trefoil
Hebrew name:   צחנן מבאיש
Arabic name:   خروب الخنازير , السلمون
Family:   Papilionaceae, פרפרניים


Life form:   Phanerophyte, shrub
Stems:   1m to 3m. high; stems get lignified to become tough wood
Leaves:   Alternate, compound, trifoliate
Flowers:   Yellow
Fruits / pods:   Flattened legume, dark brown / black; 4-12 seeds per fruit, reniform – broad, kidney-shaped; very hard, smooth surface and posoinous
Flowering Period:   January, February, March, April
Habitat:   Mediterranean maquis and forest
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Med – Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:   Perennating


Derivation of the botanical name:

Anagyris, αναγυροϛ, a strong smelling shrub with pods; Greek ana ‘up, back again, backwards’ and gyros ‘a ring’, referring to the curvature of the pods.

foetida, stinking, bad smelling; unpleasantly scented.
The Hebrew word: צחנן, tzachnan ; זחן, tzachnan, stink; indicates the unpleasant odor from the leaves.

  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.