Israel flowers: Egyptian Alkanet

Anchusa aegyptiaca, Egyptian Alkanet,
Hebrew: לשון-פר מצרית, Arabic: ححمحم مصري

Scientific name:   Anchusa aegyptiaca (L.) DC.
Common name:   Egyptian Alkanet
Hebrew name:   לשון-פר מצרית
Arabic name:   ححمحم مصري
Family:   Boraginaceae, זיפניים


Life form:   Therophyte, annual
Stems:   Hispid with stout, tubercle-based hairs; stems 5-30 cm, procumbent or ascending
Leaves:   Alternate, entire,
Flowers:   Yellow or light pink, white
Fruits / pods:   Nutlets 4-5×2-3mm, ovoid, erect
Flowering Period:   February, March, April, May
Habitat:   Batha, Phrygana, Shrub-steppes, Desert
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Saharo-Arabian
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

anchusa, αγχουσα, a plant used for cosmetic as a rouge, perhaps Anchusa tinctoria.

aegyptiaca, Egyptian.
The Hebrew name: לשון-פר, lashon-par, ‘ox-tongue’, the leaves have raised spots with short, hooked bristles, giving the leaves a very rough feeling (like an ox’s tongue, hence the name).

  • 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 DC. is used to indicate Augustin Pyramus de Candolle (1778 – 1841), a Swiss botanist.