Orchis galilaea, Galilee orchid,
Hebrew: סחלב הגליל, Arabic: السحلب الجليلي

Scientific name:  Orchis galilaea (Bornm. et Schulze) Schltr.
Common name:  Galilee orchid
Hebrew name:   סחלב הגליל
Arabic: name:  السحلب الجليلي
Family:  Orchidaceae, סחלביים

Orchis galilaea, Galilee orchid, סחלב הגליל, السحلب الجليلي
Location: Jerusalem Mountains

Life form:  Geophyte
Leaves:  Alternate, rosette, entire, smooth
Flowers:  White
Flowering Period:  February, March, April
Habitat:  Maquis
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:  Mediterranean
Summer shedding:  Ephemeral
Protected Flower, צמח מוגן:  Yes

Orchis galilaea, Galilee orchid, סחלב הגליל
Location: Jerusalem Mountains


Derivation of the botanical name:
Orchis, ορχιϛ, "testicle" (here, shape of), from the rootform of some species. For that reason, Orchis has been regarded since antiquity as an aphrodisiac.
galilaea, "Galilee"; of Galilee, Israel.
The Hebrew name: סחלב, sahlav, Arabic sahlab, corrupted from tha'lab in husa al-tha'lab (=the fox’s testicles), the Arabic name of the tubers of the Orchis mascula (so called from the resemblance of the roots to testicles).
  • The standard author abbreviation Bornm. is used to indicate Joseph Friedrich Nicolaus Bornmüller (1862 – 1948), a German botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation M.Schulze is used to indicate Carl Theodor Maximilian (Max) Schulze (1841 - 1915), a German pharmacist, botanist, and orchid specialist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Schltr. is used to indicate Rudolf Schlechter (1872 – 1925), a German taxonomist, botanist, and author of several works on orchids.

Orchis galilaea, Galilee orchid, סחלב הגליל, السحلب الجليلي
Location: Jerusalem Mountains