Israel wildflowers: Abyssinian mustard

Crambe hispanica, Crambe abyssinica, Abyssinian mustard, Abyssinian-kale, Colewort,

Hebrew: כרבה ספרדית, Arabic: الكرنب الإسباني

Scientific name:   Crambe hispanica L.
Synonym name:   Crambe abyssinica Hochst. ex R.E.Fries
Common name:   Abyssinian mustard, Abyssinian-kale, Colewort
Hebrew name:   כרבה ספרדית
Arabic name:   الكرنب الإسباني
Family:   Cruciferae / Brassicaceae, Cabbage family, מצליבים


Life form:   Annual
Stems:   25-100 cm high, slender, usually hispid; branching mostly in the upper half
Leaves:   Lower leaves lyrate-pinnatisect, reniform terminal lobe and 0-2 pairs of small lateral lobesAlternate, dentate or serrate; margin, dentate or serrate
Inflorescence:   A long panicled raceme, the lateral branches of which are sharply ascending and shorter than the primiary axis
Flowers:   Hermaphrodite, petals white
Fruits / pods:   Pods numerous, spherical, one-seeded, indehiscent; seed interior yellow; first-formed pods usually remain on stalk until last-formed pods mature
Flowering Period:   January, February, March, April
Habitat:   Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Mediterranean
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Crambe , seakale, the Greek name for cabbage.

hispanica, Spanish.
abyssinica, Abyssinian.

  • 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 Hochst. is used to indicate Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter (1787 – 1860), a German botanist and Protestant minister.
  • The standard author abbreviation R.E.Fries is used to indicate Robert Elias Fries (1876 – 1966), a Swedish botanist.