Israel wildflowers: Jaffa Toadflax

Linaria joppensis, Jaffa Toadflax,
Hebrew: פשתנית יפו, Arabic: الكتانية اليافاوية

Scientific name:   Linaria joppensis Bornm.
Common name:   Jaffa Toadflax
Hebrew name:   פשתנית יפו
Arabic name:   الكتانية اليافاوية
Family:   Scrophulariaceae, לועניתיים


Life form:   Annual
Stems:   15-30 cm high; erect, glandular-pubescent in inflorescence, glabrous below; fertile stems 1-3, 5-34 mm, simple or sparingly branched
Leaves:   Alternate, entire, linear-oblong
Inflorescence:   Spike, terminal, 3-20 flowers, dense in fiower
Flowers:   sepals 5, corolla 5-lobed, 2 lipped (adaxial lip sinus 1.5-2 mm; abaxial lip sinus 1.5-2 mm); stamens 4, in 2 pairs
Fruits / pods:   Capsule, oblong-ovoid, glabrous
Flowering Period:   March, April
Habitat:   Sand
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Shrub-steppes
Chorotype:   Mediterranean
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Linaria, Greek linum, flax; referring to the flax-like leaves.

joppensis, from Jaffo.
The Hebrew name: פשתנית, pishtanit, (New Hebrew) Linaria; formed from פשתן ( =flax, linen), with suffix -it; Properly, loan translation of the scientific name Linaria, which derives from linum (= flax, linen), and was so called in allusion to its resemblance to flax.

  • The standard author abbreviation Bornm. is used to indicate Joseph Friedrich Nicolaus Bornmüller (1862 – 1948), a German botanist.