Lavatera cretica

Lavatera cretica, Malva linnaei, Smaller Tree Mallow, Cornish Mallow,
Hebrew: מעוג כרתי, Arabic: خبيزه

Scientific name:   Lavatera cretica (Lam.) DC.
Synonym name:   Malva linnaei M.F.Ray
Common name:   Smaller Tree Mallow, Cornish Mallow
Hebrew name:   מעוג כרתי
Arabic name:   خبيزه
Family:   Malvaceae, חלמיתיים


Life form:   Annual
Stems:   20-90 cm high; single-stemmed, later branched; stellate-tomentose or slightly hispid
Leaves:   Alternate, entire, dentate or serrate
Inflorescence:   Inflorescence indeterminate, an initially corymbose leafy raceme; flowers borne upright, singly, in pairs, or in fasciculate clusters in the axils of upper leaves and of leaves of side shoots
Flowers:   Hermaphrodite; Lilac; shape of the epicalyx segments, triangular-ovate and symmetrically disposed
Fruits / pods:   Schizocarpous, verticillate
Flowering Period:   February, March, April
Habitat:   Ruderal
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Mediterranean
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral

Derivation of the botanical name:

Lavatera, named after the brothers, Johann Heinrich Lavater (1611 – 1691) and Johann Jacob Lavater(1594 – 1636), Swiss (Zurich) physicians and naturalist.

cretica, from the island of Crete.
Malva, from the Greek word “malache”, meaning “mallow” and “malakos”, “soft, gentle,”, referring to the abundant mucilage in certain species, which softens the skin.
linnaei, named for Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778).
The Hebrew name: מעוג, maog, probably from מעוג, maog, round cake (a hapax legomenon in the Bible, occurring Kin. I 17:12). probably related to עוגה, uga (=cake).

  • The standard author abbreviation Lam. is used to indicate Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de la Marck (1744 – 1829), a French botanist and invertebrate zoologist who formulated one of the earliest theories of evolution.
  • The standard author abbreviation DC. is used to indicate Augustin Pyramus de Candolle (1778 – 1841), a Swiss botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation M.F.Ray is used to indicate Martin Forbes Ray , Univ. Herbarium, Univ. Calif., Berkeley,