Pancratium maritimum, Sea daffodil, Sea pancratium lily,
חבצלת החוף
"I will be as the dew to Israel; he shall blossom as the lily,
he shall strike root as the poplar"
Hosea 14: 5
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| | Scientific name: |
| Pancratium maritimum L. |
| Common name: |
| Sea daffodil, Sea pancratium lily |
| Hebrew name: |
| חבצלת החוף |
| Arabic name: |
| susan al bahr, نرجس بحري |
| Family: |
| Amaryllidaceae, נרקיסיים |
Date Picture Taken: December 13, 2007
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| | Life form: |
| Geophyte |
| Leaves: |
| Rosette, entire |
| Flowers: |
| White |
| Flowering Period: |
| August, September, October |
| Habitat: |
| Mediterranean strand |
| Distribution: |
| Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands |
| Chorotype: |
| Mediterranean |
| Summer shedding: |
| Ephemeral |
Date Picture Taken: September 29, 2007
Derivation of the botanical name:
Pancratium, pan, "all"; krotion, "power"; means the 'all-powerful,' like Jesus as the Pankrator in Byzantine art. Pantokrator was used to translate the Hebrew title El Shaddai.
maritimum, "coastal."
The Hebrew name for the flower is חבצלת החוף (Chavazelet Hachof), and it is also generally accepted, that the Rose of Sharon (shoshan, חבצלת השרון, Chavazelet Hasharon), mentioned in the Song of Solomon (Song of Songs 2:1-2), is identified with the Pancratium maritimum, but without justification.
- 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 "Rose of Sharon" blooms in the spring of the year and the Pancratium maritimum blooms in August, September and October.
A member of the Amaryllidaceae family. There are about 15 species of the genus Pancratium.
Pancratium maritimum is a bulbous perennial, growing deeply buried in highly threatened Mediterranean habitats: the sand fields and dunes in the coastal area.
The plant scapes to 40 cm height. The flowers are 3-15 in an umbel, have an exotic lily scent and are white.
It is propagated by seed as well as bulbs. This species became rare because of destruction of the coast by urbanism.
The Pancratium species are toxic plants! The bulbs contain more than 20 alkaloids and some other substances (lectine...).
There were ethnobotanical and/or medicinal uses with Pancatium: Pancratium maritimum has anti-fungal activity.
Date Picture Taken: September 29, 2007
Location: Nof Yam coast; Date Picture Taken: September 6, 2009
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