Israel wildflowers: Ceratocapnos turbinata

Ceratocapnos turbinata, Ceratocapnos palaestinus, Fumaria turbinata,
Hebrew: בר עשנן ארץ ישראלי

Scientific name:   Ceratocapnos turbinata (DC.) Liden
Synonym name:   Ceratocapnos palaestinus Boiss., Fumaria turbinata Sm. ex DC.
Common name:   –
Hebrew name:   בר עשנן ארץ ישראלי
Family:   Fumariaceae, עשנניים


Life form:   Annual, climber
Stems:   Climbing due to tendrils
Leaves:   Alternate, rosette; compound, pinnate or bipinnate, bipinnate or more; long-petioled leaves, smooth margin
Flowers:   Hermaphrodite; pink, violet, rose-red petals
Fruits / pods:   Ribbed fruits
Flowering Period:   February, March, April, May
Habitat:   Mediterranean maquis and forest
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Mediterranean
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Ceratocapnos, ceras, κέραζ = horn, due to the horned fruits; capnos, καπνοζ, smoke referring to the similarity with fumewort (Fumaria) from Latin fumus “smoke”.

turbinata, shaped like a spinning top.
palaestinus, from Palestine.
Fumaria, Latin fumus terrae, “smoke of the earth” and may refers to the smoky odour of some species in this genus or the smoky colour of some species when in flower.

  • The standard author abbreviation DC is used to indicate Augustin Pyramus de Candolle (1778 – 1841), a Swiss botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Liden is used to indicate Magnus Lidén (born 1951), a Swedish botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810 – 1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician.
  • The standard author abbreviation Sm. is used to indicate James Edward Smith (1759 – 1828), an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society.