Plants in Israel: Neetle-leaved goosefoot

Chenopodium murale, Neetle-leaved goosefoot,
Hebrew: כף-אווז האשפות, Arabic: سرمق جداري, Egypt: أبو عفين “Abu ‘Efein”

Scientific name:   Chenopodium murale L.
Common name:   Neetle-leaved goosefoot
Hebrew name:   כף-אווז האשפות
Arabic name:   سرمق جداري
Egypt:   أبو عفين “Abu ‘Efein”
Plant Family:   Chenopodiaceae, סלקיים


Life form:   Annual
Stems:   Up to 90 cm tall, with branches arising mostly from the base of the main stem
Leaves:   Alternate, entire, dentate or serrate
Flowers:   Green
Fruits / pods:   Tiny, up to 1.5 mm in diameter; seed disk shaped, black to dark brown, with a minutely pitted surface
Flowering Period:   February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
Habitat:   Nutrient-rich soils, ruderal
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Plurireginal, boreal-trop
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Chenopodium, from Greek chen, “goose,” and pous, “foot,” or podion, “a little foot,” referring to the shape of the leaves in some species.

murale, of walls

  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.