Damasonium alisma, Starfruit, Thrumwort,
דמסון כוכבני

Scientific name:		Damasonium alisma Mill.
Synonym name:		Actinocarpus damasonium R.Br., Damasonium stellatum Thuill.
Common name:		Starfruit, Thrumwort
Hebrew name:		דמסון כוכבני
Plant Family:		Alismataceae, כף-הצפרדעע

Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool

Life form:		Therophyte, annual
Stems:		Up to 30 cm
Leaves:		Alternate, rosette; entire; smooth
Flowers:		White, pink, hermaphrodite
Fruits / pods:		a whorl of follicles; the follicles are laterally compressed, stellately radiating, with a more or less elongated apical beak; "startfruit" seeds are shaped like stars
Flowering Period:		April, May, June
Habitat:		Humid habitats
Distribution:		Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands
Chorotype:		Med - Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:		ephemeral

Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool Derivation of the botanical name: Damasonium, a classical Greek name. alisma, αλισμα, name for a water plant used by Dioscorides, and adopted by Carolus Linnaeus. Perhaps itself derived from the Celtic, alias, "water". The standard author abbreviation Mill. is used to indicate Philip Miller (1691 – 1771), a Scottish botanist. The standard author abbreviation R.Br. is used to indicate Robert Brown (1773 – 1858), a Scottish botanist. The standard author abbreviation Thuill. is used to indicate Jean Louis Thuillier (1757 – 1822), a French botanist. Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool