Plantago ovata, Ovate Plantain,
Hebrew: לחך סגלגל, Arabic: لسان الحمل البيضوي

Scientific name:  Plantago ovata Forssk.
Common name:   Ovate Plantain
Hebrew name:  לחך סגלגל
Arabic name:  لسان الحمل البيضوي
Family:  Plantaginaceae, לחכיים

Flora de Israel

Life form:  Therophyte, annual
Leaves:  Rosette, entire
Flowers:  Green
Flowering Period:  January, February, March, April
Habitat:  Steppes and deserts
Distribution:   The Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype:   Irano-Turanian - Saharo-Arabian
Summer shedding:  Ephemeral

Plantago ovata, Ovate Plantain, לחך סגלגל


Derivation of the botanical name:
Plantago, plantagin (stem), a "plantain".
ovata, egg-shaped, with the broad end down.
The Hebrew name: לחך, lahakh, the plantain, New Hebrew, from לחך, lahakh, was licked up, was lapped up, was eaten up.
  • The standard author abbreviation Forssk. is used to indicate Peter Forsskål (1732 – 1763), a Swedish explorer, orientalist and naturalist.