Israel wildflowers: prickly goldenfleece
Urospermum picroides, Tragopogon picroides, Prickly goldenfleece, Prickly cupped Goat’s Beard,
Hebrew: אזנב מצוי, Arabic: عضيض مريرياني, Egypt: سلس “Salis”
| Scientific name: | Urospermum picroides (L.) F.W. Schmidt | |
| Synonym name: | Tragopogon picroides L. | |
| Common name | Prickly goldenfleece, Prickly cupped Goat’s Beard | |
| Hebrew name: | אזנב מצוי | |
| Arabic name: | عضيض مريرياني | |
| Egypt: | سلس “Salis” | |
| Plant Family: | Compositae (Asteraceae), מורכבים |
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| Life form: | Annual | |
| Leaves: | Alternate, simple, stalked, thin, lanceolate to ovate-oblong, 3-6 inches long, 1/2 to 2 inches wide, often broadest at middle, glabrous or somewhat pubescent; bases narrowed; margins conspicuously toothed; tips pointed; upper leaves gradually reduced. | |
| Flowers: | Yellow | |
| Fruits: | Capsules, stiffly erect, 1/4 to 1/2 inch long; seeds chestnut-brown, lustrous. | |
| 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: Urospermum, Greek oura, a tail, and sperma, a seed, alluding to the tail-like beak of the seeds.
picroides, picro, bitter; resembling Picris, bitter (Theophrastus’ name for a bitter potherb).
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