Panicum repens,Panicum airoides, Panicum littorale,
Panicum gouinii, Torpedo grass, Quack grass,
Bullet grass, Couch panicum,
Hebrew: דוחן זוחל, Arabic: الثمام الزاحف, Egypt: زمار "Zommar"

"But as for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt,
put them in one vessel and make them into bread for yourself..."
Ezekiel 4:9
Scientific name:  Panicum repens L.
Synonym name:  Panicum airoides R.Br., Panicum littorale C.Mohr ex Vasey, Panicum gouinii Fourn.
Common name:  Torpedo grass, Quack grass, Bullet grass, Couch panicum
Hebrew name:   דוחן זוחל
Arabic name:  الثمام الزاحف
Egypt:  زمار "Zommar"
Family:   Graminea (Poaceae), Grass Family, משפחת הדגניים

Fleurs de Terre Sainte, Blumen aus dem Heiligen Lande, Flores en Tierra Santa
Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool
Life form:   chamaephyte, hemicryptophyte, rhizomatous perennial
Stems:  culms erect, to 80 cm high, rigid, many noded
Leaves:  Alternate, entire, smooth, hairy leaf sheaths and hair on the upper margins of the leaves. Leaf blades are stiff, linear, flat or folded; the surface often with a waxy or whitish coating
Inflorescence:  panicle, 7-22 cm long
Flowers:  Spikelet with 2 florets; upper glume and lower lemma acute; upper lemma smooth
Fruits / pods:  Grain
Flowering Period:  January, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
Habitat:  Humid habitats
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype:  Subtropical -Tropical
Summer shedding:  Perennating

Panicum repens,Panicum airoides R.Br.,Panicum littorale Mohr ex Vasey, Panicum gouinii Fourn. Torpedo grass, Quack grass, Bullet grass, Couch panicum,Qoseiba, דוחן זוחל
Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool


Derivation of the botanical name:
Panicum, panus (Latin), "millet", annual and perennial grasses that have 1- to 2-flowered spikelets arranged in a panicle (Latin panicula, diminutive of panus).
repens, repo, "to crawl, creep"; meaning creeping.
airoides, like the genus Aira.
littorale, of the sea shore; littoral.
gouinii, in honor of Dr. François-Marie-Gabriel Goüin (1818-1873), a surgeon in the French navy and an amateur plant collector, who collected in Mexico in 1864-1867.
The Hebrew name: דוחן, dochan is used for "millet" in Ezekiel 4:9.
  • 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 R.Br is used to indicate Robert Brown (1773 – 1858), a Scottish botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation C.Mohr is used to indicate Charles Theodore Mohr (1824 – 1901), a pharmacist and botanist of German descent who lived and worked in the Americas.
  • The standard author abbreviation Vasey is used to indicate George Vasey (1822 – 1893), an English-born American botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Fourn. is used to indicate Eugene Pierre Nicolas Fournier (1834 - 1884), a French botanist.


H.B.Tristram, The Natural History of the Bible: "Millet, heb. dôchan, is only once mentioned among ingredients which Ezekiel was commanded to take and mingle for his bread: "Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and fitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof" (Ez.iv.9), where it is evident that every grain is enumerated, which was ordinarily used for bread".


Panicum repens,Panicum airoides R.Br.,Panicum littorale Mohr ex Vasey, Panicum gouinii Fourn. Torpedo grass, Quack grass, Bullet grass, Couch panicum, דוחן זוחל
Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool