Israel wildflowers: Pink Mustard

Reboudia pinnata, Erucaria microcarpa, Pink Mustard,
Hebrew: בן-שלח מנוצה, Arabic: السليح المنقاري

Scientific name:   Reboudia pinnata (Viv.)O.E.Schulz
Synonym name:   Erucaria microcarpa Boiss.
Common name:   Pink Mustard
Hebrew name:   בן-שלח מנוצה
Arabic name:   السليح المنقاري
Family:   Cruciferae / Brassicaceae, מצליבים


Life form:   Therophyte, annual
Leaves:   Alternate, dissected twice or more, dentate or serrate
Flowers:   Pink
Flowering Period:   January, February, March, April
Habitat:   Shrub-steppes, Desert
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype, טיפוס התפוצה:   Saharo-Arabian
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Reboudia, after the French botanist Victor Constant Reboud (1821 – 1889), physician.

Erucaria, Latin, eruca, rocket, cruciformous herb; arius, Latin suffix, pertaining to.
microcarpa, micro, “small”; -carpa, -fruit; meaning small-fruited.
pinnata, feathered, winged; pinnate.
The Hebrew name: בן-שלח, ben-selach Reboudia, species that are close to selach (=weapon). Derived from שלח and so called because it resembles a short sword; Arabic silah, silh (=arm, weapon).

  • The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810 – 1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician.
  • The standard author abbreviation Viv. is used to indicate Domenico Viviani (1772 – 1840), an Italian botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation O.E.Schulz is used to indicate Otto Eugen Schulz (1874 – 1936), a German botanist.