Israel wildflowers: Three-bracted Loosestrife

Lythrum tribracteatum, Lythrum bibracteatum, Three-bracted Loosestrife,
Hebrew: שנית שוות-שיניים


Scientific name:		Lythrum tribracteatum Sprengel
Synonym name:		Lythrum bibracteatum DC.
Common name:		Three-bracted Loosestrife
Hebrew name:		שנית שוות-שיניים
Family:		Lythraceae, Loosestrife family, כפריים

_{Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool}


Life form:		Annual
Stems:		5-30 cm, erect, branched at base
Leaves:		Alternate,entire, oblong-oblanceolate, smooth
Inflorescence:		Raceme, cluster, axillary; bracts leaf-like; flowers ± sessile
Flowers:		Pink, violet
Fruits / pods:		Capsule, cylindrical; small seeds, light brown
Flowering Period:		February, March, April, May, June, July, August
Habitat:		Humid habitats
Distribution:		Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype:		Euro-Siberian – Med – Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:		Ephemeral

_{Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool}
Derivation of the botanical name:

Lythrum , lythronGreek,”blood,” and alluding to the color of the flowers.

tribracteatum, tri, three, bractea, “thin plate of metal, gold-leaf”; with three-bracts.
The Hebrew name: שנית, shanit, formed from שני (= scarlet, crimson), with suffix-ית, it; so called in allusion to the color of its flowers.

The standard author abbreviation is used to indicate Curt Polycarp Joachim Sprengel (1766 – 1833), a German botanist and physician.
The standard author abbreviation DC. is used to indicate Augustin Pyramus de Candolle (1778 – 1841), a Swiss botanist.

_{Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool}