Israel flowers: Spanish pink mustard

Erucaria hispanica, Erucaria myagroides, Spanish pink mustard,
Hebrew: שלח ספרדי,שלח מצוי, Arabic: غراء , ام قرين

Scientific name:   Erucaria hispanica (L.) Druce
Synonym name:   Erucaria myagroides (L.) Hal.
Common name:   Spanish pink mustard
Hebrew name:   שלח ספרדי,שלח מצוי
Arabic name:   غراء , ام قرين
Plant Family:   Cruciferae / Brassicaceae, מצליבים


Life form:   Therophyte, annual
Stems:   About 40 cm tall; branched from below, glabrous or sparsely hispid below with simple hairs
Leaves:   Alternate, dissected twice or more, dentate or serrate
Inflorescence:   Racemes 30-45-flowered
Flowers:   Lilach, pink, white
Fruits / pods:   Siliquae; 1-3-seeded
Flowering Period:   January, February, March, April, May, June
Habitat:   Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes
Chorotype:   Mediterranean
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

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

hispanica, Spanish.
The Hebrew name: שלח, shelach, so called because it resembles a short sword (שלח).

  • 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 Druce is used to indicate George Claridge Druce (1850 – 1932),an English botanist and a Mayor of Oxford.
  • The standard author abbreviation Hal. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.