Cardamine hirsuta, Hairy bittercress, shotweed, snapweed,
Hebrew: קרדמין שעיר, Arabic: الحُرْف الزغبي

Scientific name:  Cardamine hirsuta L.
Common name:  Hairy bittercress, shotweed, snapweed
Hebrew name:  קרדמין שעיר
Arabic name:  الحُرْف الزغبي
Family:  Cruciferae / Brassicaceae, מצליבים

פרחים וצמחי בר, דיווחי פריחה

Life form:  Annual
Stems:  under 30 cm high; mostly erect, smooth, angled stems branch mainly at the base, glabrous
Leaves:  Basal rosette, pinnate (2 to 10 pairs), round or wedge-shaped leaflets, terminal leaflet larger, petioles hairy at base
Flowers:  Hermaphrodite, white flowers in terminal clusters; flower diameter c 2-3.5 mm; 4 petals, 4 stamens
Fruits / pods:  Silique, about 2.5cm long, flattened, upward-pointing capsules
Flowering Period:  February, March, April, May, June, July
Habitat:  Batha, Phrygana, Disturbed habitats
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype:   Med - Euro-Siberian
Summer shedding:  Ephemeral

Cardamine hirsuta, Hairy bittercress, shotweed, snapweed, الحُرْف الزغبي,קרדמין שעיר


Derivation of the botanical name:
Cardamine, Greek kardamon used by Dioscorides for some cress, since many species resemble watercress in appearance and flavor; maybe used in treating heart ailments.
hirsuta, rough, shaggy, bristly; hairy.
  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.

Flora of Israel online, Native plants, Palestine