Malva sylvestris, Wood Mallow,
Hebrew: חלמית גדולה, Arabic: خبيزة

Scientific name:  Malva sylvestris L.
Common name:  Wood Mallow, High Mallow
Hebrew name:   חלמית גדולה
Arabic name:   خبيزة, Khobbeiza
Family:  Malvaceae, חלמיתיים

Flora, Israel, flowers, wildflowers

Life form:  Hemicryptophyte
Stems:  60-90 cm; pubescent to glabrescent
Leaves:  Alternate, entire, dentate or serrate
Inflorescence:  Raceme, leafy, in fascicles, 1–4 flowers in leaf axils
Flowers:  pink, purple, petals, emarginated; 5, 3 or 7, darker veins, the veins often being forked towards their apices
Fruits / pods:  Schizocarp, segments 10-12, glabrous, reticulate; seeds brown
Flowering Period:   February, March, April
Habitat:  Batha, Phrygana, Shrub-steppes, Desert
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype:   Med - Euro-Siberian
Summer shedding:  Ephemeral

Malva sylvestris, Wood Mallow, חלמית גדולה  ,خبيزة


Derivation of the botanical name:
Malva, from the Greek word "malache", meaning "mallow" and "malakos", "soft, gentle,", referring to the abundant mucilage in certain species, which softens the skin.
sylvestris, pertaing to woods, growing wild.
The Hebrew name: חלמית, halamit (Post Biblical Hebrew), Aramaic: חלמתא, halamta; Arabic: haluma.
  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
Bible resources:
  1. Job 6:6-7
    Is tasteless food eaten without salt, or is there flavor in the white of an egg?
    I refuse to touch it; such food makes me ill.