Reseda alopecuros, Fox mignonette,
Hebrew: רכפה גדולה, Arabic: البليحاء الثعلبية

Scientific name:  Reseda alopecuros Boiss.
Common name:  Fox mignonette
Hebrew name:  רכפה גדולה
Arabic name:  البليحاء الثعلبية
Family:  Resedaceae, רכפתיים

פרחים בישראל, צמחי בר בישראל, מגדיר, תמונות

Life form:  Annual
Leaves:  Alternate, rosette, diisected once, dentate or serrate
Flowers:  White
Flowering Period:  February, March, April, May
Habitat:  Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes
Chorotype:  Mediterranean
Summer shedding:  Ephemeral

Israel, Flowers, Native plants, Nature, Palestine


Derivation of the botanical name:
Reseda, Latin resedare, "to assuage or calm," because of supposed sedative properties.
alopecuros, αλωπεκουροϛ (αλωπεξ ουρα), Theophrastus: fox tail, fox brush; fox tail.
The Hebrew name: רכפה, richpa, Reseda is mentioned in the Mishnah as one of the plants that produce color: "And the species of dye, poa and richpa".
  • The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810 – 1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician.