Aizoon hispanicum, Aizoanthemum hispanicum,
Aizoon, Spanish aizoon,
Hebrew: חייעד ספרדי, Arabic: مليح, اصبع العروس, يشاند

Scientific name:  Aizoon hispanicum L.
Synonym name:  Aizoanthemum hispanicum (L.) H.E.K.Hartmann
Common name:  Spanish aizoon
Hebrew name:  חייעד ספרדי
Arabic name:  مليح, اصبع العروس, يشاند
Family:  Aizoaceae, חיעדיים

Aizoon hispanicum, Aizoanthemum hispanicum, Aizoon, Spanish aizoon, חייעד ספרדי, مليح, اصبع العروس, يشاند

Life form:  Annual
Succulence:  Stem + leaf succulent
Stems:  Branches trail on the ground
Leaves:  Opposite, entire, lanceolate, smooth margin
Flowers:  Hermaphrodite; 5 white, green petals, sessile
Fruits / pods:  Hygrochastic capsules with an ombrohydrochoric seeddispersal mechanism which in part are also responsible for the remarkable speciation burst and radiation. The highly complex capsules open when wet, and the seeds are expelled by a ‘jetaction’ with the kinetic energy of raindrops. The halves of the covering membranes of a locule form a nozzle near the centre of the capsule which serves as a jet. Drops of water falling on the distal opening (after the locule has been filled with water) result in an explosive expulsion of water droplets and seeds through that jet. More seeds are dispersed further away from the capsule than in those capsule types without such a jet mechanism.
Flowering Period:  February, March, April, May
Habitat:  Sand
Distribution:  Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype:  Saharo-Arabian
Summer shedding:  Ephemeral

Aizoon hispanicum, Aizoanthemum hispanicum, Aizoon, Spanish aizoon, مليح, اصبع العروس, يشاند, חייעד ספרדי


Derivation of the botanical name:
Aizoon, αειζωον, from 'ever living,' evergreen.
hispanicum, Spanish.
  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
  • The standard author abbreviation H.E.K.Hartmann is used to indicate Dr. Heidrun (Heidi) Elsbeth Klara Hartmann (1942-), a German botanist and plant collector,

Aizoon hispanicum, Aizoanthemum hispanicum, Aizoon, Spanish aizoon, חייעד ספרדי