Israel wildflowers: False Saw-wort

Crupina crupinastrum, Crupina vulgaris subsp. crupinastrum, Southern Crupina, False Saw-wort,

Hebrew: דרדית מצויה, Arabic: زحافة زحافية

Scientific name:   Crupina crupinastrum (Moris) Vis.
Scientific name:   Crupina vulgaris subsp. crupinastrum (Moris) Batt.
Common name:   Southern Crupina, False Saw-wort
Hebrew name:   דרדית מצויה
Arabic name:   زحافة زحافية
Plant Family:   Compositae / Asteraceae, מורכבים


Life form:   Therophyte, annual
Stems:   20 – 80 cm high; erect, openly branched above
Leaves:   Alternate, dissected, pinnate, dentate or serrate
Flowers:   Violet
Fruits / pods:   Achenes, cylindric or ± compressed; base puberulent, soft-hairy upward; bristles of the pappus are brown-black
Flowering Period:   March, April, May
Habitat:   Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Med – Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Crupina, possibly from a Flemish or Dutch vernacular name; kruipen crawl, referring to the achenes provided with black papus simular to the legs of an insect.

The source and means of crupinastrum is not known.

  • The standard author abbreviation Moris is used to indicate Giuseppe Giacinto Moris (1796 – 1869), an Italian botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Vis. is used to indicate Roberto de Visiani (1800 – 1878), an Italian botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Batt. is used to indicate Jules Aimé Battandier (1848 – 1922), a French botanist.