Capparis sicula, Caparis ovata, Sicilian caper,
צלף סיצילי
 
Scientific name:  Capparis sicula Veillard
Synonym name:  Capparis ovata Desf.
Common name:  Sicilian caper
Hebrew name:  צלף סיצילי
Family:  Capparaceae, צלפיים

Capparis sicula, Caparis ovata, Sicilian caper, צלף סיצילי
Date Picture Taken: May 22, 2006

 
Life form:  Shrub
Leaves:  Alternate
Flowers:  White
Flowering Period:   January, February, March, April, May, June, July
Habitat:  Heavy soils
Distribution:  Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype:   Irano-Turanian - Saharo-Arabian
Summer shedding:  Perenating

Capparis sicula, Caparis ovata, Sicilian caper, צלף סיצילי
Date Picture Taken: May 21, 2006


Derivation of the botanical name:
Capparis (latin), borrowed from Greek kapparis [κάππαρις], whose origin is unknown but probably West or Central Asia (Alkabara, kabar). Another theory links kapparis to the name of the island Cyprus (Kypros [Κύπρος]), where capers grow abundantly. Arabic kafara, to be hairy, villous.
sicula, of Sicily.
ovata, ovate, egg-shaped, with the broad end down.
  • The standard author abbreviation Veillard is used to indicate Veillard, , a French botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Desf. is used to indicate Nicaise Auguste Desvaux (1784–1856), a French botanist.