Israel wildflowers: Blackspot Hornpoppy

Glaucium corniculatum, Chelidonium corniculatum L.,Blackspot Hornpoppy,

Hebrew: פרגה מקרינה, Arabic: الماميثا المقرنة

Scientific name:   Glaucium corniculatum (L.) J.H.Rudolph
Synonym name:   Chelidonium corniculatum L.
Common name:   Blackspot Hornpoppy
Hebrew name:   פרגה מקרינה
Arabic name:   الماميثا المقرنة
Family:   Papaveraceae, פרגיים


Life form:   Annual
Stems:   Up to 50 cm; erect, branching; stiff spreading hairs
Leaves:   Alternate, rosette, dissected, dentate or serrate; hispid, glaucos
Inflorescence:   Short flower stalks
Flowers:   Sepals softly hairy; petals roundish, red with black spot at the base
Fruits / pods:   Capsule hairy, hairs pressed to the pericarpium
Flowering Period:   March, April, May
Habitat:   Shrub-steppes
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype:   Med – Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Glaucium , Horned poppy; sea poppy. From Greek glaukos, grayish-green; from the color of the leaves.

corniculatum, corniculum, little horn; helmet ornament; horned.
Chelidonium , Celandine. From the Greek chelidon, a swallow. The tradition is that the herb flowers when the swallows arrive.

  • 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 J.H.Rudolph is used to indicate J.H.Rudolph , who gives the species the name of Glaucium corniculatum.

See the list of Medicinal herbs in Israel, the parts used and their medical uses to treat various diseases.