Moraea sisyrinchium, Gynandriris sisyrinchium, Barbary Nut,
Hebrew: אחיאירוס מצוי, אירוס מצוי, צהרון מצוי, Arabic: سوسن عادي

Scientific name:  Gynandriris sisyrinchium (L.) Parl.
Synonym name:  Moraea sisyrinchium, Iris sisyrinchium L.
Common name:  Barbary Nut
Hebrew name:  אחיאירוס מצוי, אירוס מצוי, צהרון מצוי
Arabic name:  سوسن عادي
Family:  Iridaceae, אירוסיים

 Moraea sisyrinchium, Gynandriris sisyrinchium, Barbary Nut, אחיאירוס מצוי, אירוס מצוי, צהרון מצוי

Life form:  Geophyte; rootstock a corm, of solid substance not arranged in rings
Stems:  Up to 30 cm tall
Leaves:  Rosette, entire, linear, strongly veined leaves
Inflorescence:  Cymose corymbs
Flowers:  Dark Blue, purple; individual flowers lasting a few hours
Fruits / pods:  Capsules subglobose, about 2.0 mm long, 1.8 mm wide, at most slightly compressed, often with a distinct lateral ridge or narrow wing
Flowering Period:  January, February, March, April
Habitat:  Batha, Phrygana, Shrub-steppes, Desert
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:  Med - Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:  Ephemeral

Moraea sisyrinchium, Gynandriris sisyrinchium, Barbary Nut, אחיאירוס מצוי, אירוס מצוי, צהרון מצוי


Derivation of the botanical name:
Gynandriris, Greek gyne, female and andros, male; refers to the united pistil and stamens.
sisyrinchium, Greek σίσύρα sisyra, 'a cloak of shaggy goat's skin' and was applied to this plant because of the thick covering of coarse fibres which surrounds the corm.
Moraea, in honor of (esquire of Shropshire) Robert More (1703-1780), an English amateur botanist and natural historian.
  • 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 Parl. is used to indicate Filippo Parlatore (1816 – 1877), an Italian botanist.
The flowers are short-lived, opening around midday but closing again in the evening and not re-opening the following day.



Moraea sisyrinchium, Gynandriris sisyrinchium, Barbary Nut, אחיאירוס מצוי, אירוס מצוי, צהרון מצוי


Moraea sisyrinchium, Gynandriris sisyrinchium, Barbary Nut, אחיאירוס מצוי, אירוס מצוי, צהרון מצוי