Crepis aculeata, Barkhausia aculeata, Crepis pungens,
سَراغَة شائكَة ,ניסנית שיכנית

Scientific name:  Crepis aculeata (DC.) Boiss.
Synonym name:  Barkhausia aculeata DC., Crepis pungens Desf. ex Pers
Common name:  (Prickly) Hawksbeard
Hebrew name:  ניסנית שיכנית
Arabic name:  سَراغَة شائكَة
Plant Family:  Compositae / Asteraceae, מורכבים

פרחים וצמחי בר בארץ ישראל, ניסנית שיכנית

Life form:  Annual
Stems:  15-45 cm high; caudex swollen; flowering stems ascending or erect, tomentose below and at bifurcations, glabrous or sparsely hispid above, branched already from base
Leaves:  Alternate, entire, dentate or serrate
Flowers:  Hermaphrodite, yellow
Fruits / pods:  Dimorphic achenes (two distinct forms); outer achenes fusiform, dorsally curved, laterally compressed, 7.0-9.0 mm long, pubescent, dorsally striate and ventrally smooth, sometimes winged, greyish, yellowish or brown, attenuate, enclosed by the inner involucral bracts, with sparse pappus; inner achenes fusiform, glabrous, finely muricate, orange-brown, with 16-18 ribs, 3-4 ribs somewhat stronger, with a filiform beak, with pappus. Pappus white, united at base, persistent
Flowering Period:  March, April
Habitat:  Sand
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Shrub-steppes
Chorotype:  Mediterranean
Summer shedding:  Ephemeral

Crepis aculeata, Barkhausia aculeata, Crepis pungens, ניסנית שיכנית


Derivation of the botanical name:
Crepis, Greek krepis, krepidos "a boot, foundation, pedestal," Latin crepis for an unknown plant (Plinius); Theophrastus used krepis for oxtongue, Helminthia echioides (Theophrastus, Enquiry into plants, book VII. viii. 3).
aculeata, with prickles or stings, spine-like; prickly.
Barkhausia, named for Johann Conrad Barkhausen (1666-1723), Professor of Chemistry at the University of Utrecht.
pungens, spiny, pungent; sharp-pointed.
  • The standard author abbreviation DC. is used to indicate Augustin Pyramus de Candolle (1778 – 1841), a Swiss botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810 – 1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician.
  • The standard author abbreviation >Desf. is used to indicate René Louiche Desfontaines (1750 – 1833), a French botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation >Pers. is used to indicate Christiaan Hendrik Persoon (1761 – 1836), a mycologist, born in South Africa.

Israel wildflowers: Crepis aculeata, Barkhausia aculeata, Crepis pungens, ניסנית שיכנית