Lycium schweinfurthii, Boxthorn,
Hebrew: אטד החוף, Arabic: عوسج

Scientific name:  Lycium schweinfurthii Dammer
Common name:   Boxthorn, Lycium schweinfurthii
Hebrew name:   אטד החוף
Arabic name:  عوسج
Family:  Solanaceae, סולניים

ישראל, פרחים, צמחי בר, תמונות

Life form:   Phanerophyte, shrub
Spinescence:  Stems
Stems:  Up to 200 cm; thorny branches
Leaves:  Alternate, entire
Flowers:  Violet, white
Fruits / pods:  Berry, black and red-orange
Flowering Period:  Almost the whole year
Habitat:  Light soils
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes
Chorotype:  Mediterranean
Summer shedding:  Perennating

Lycium schweinfurthii, Boxthorn, אטד החוף
Location: The Sharon Plain


Derivation of the botanical name:
Lycium, from Lycia, an ancient country in Asia Minor, and / or from the Greek name Lykion used by Dioscorides and Pliny for some thorny tree or shrub.
schweinfurthii, for Charles Schweinfurth (1890-1970), an American botanist.
The Hebrew name: אטד, atad, related to Aramaic-Syrian: אטדא, atda, Arabic: 'atad, Akkadian: etidu and ittitti.
  • The standard author abbreviation Dammer is used to indicate Carl Lebrecht Udo Dammer (1860 – 1920), a German botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
Pliny the Elder(23–79), describes boxthorn as a medicinal plant recommended as a treatment for sore eyes and inflammation.
Pedanius Dioscorides (ca.40-ca. 90) notes medicinal uses of Lycium, stating that preparations of various plant parts relieved inflammation and relaited ailments

Lycium schweinfurthii, Boxthorn, אטד החוף