Scandix pecten-veneris, Shepherd's needle, Venus' needle, Shepherdsneedle,
Hebrew: מסרק שולמית, Arabic: مشط الزهرة

Scientific name:  Scandix pecten-veneris L.
Common name:  Shepherd's needle, Venus' needle, shepherdsneedle
Hebrew name:  מסרק שולמית
Arabic name:  مشط الزهرة
Family:  Umbelliferae / Apiaceae, סוככים

Flora, Israel, Wildflowers, Florist
Location: Neot Kedumim

Life form:  Annual
Stems:  Taprooted, rosetted, 1−several-stemmed at base, with ascending lateral branches, 15–30+ cm tall; cylindric, hollow, hairy
Leaves:  Alternate, dissected, bipinnate or more
Inflorescence:  Terminal, compound umbel of 2-3 rays
Flowers:  No sepals; 5, spreading, unequal, obovate or heart-shaped to roundish; 5 stamens; 1 pistil
Fruits / pods:  Schizocarp, of 2 dry, 1-seeded halves (mericarps), linear with long beak having persistent stylopodium and styles, to 8 cm long, beak > seed body, scabrous with upward-pointing barbs along ribs and beak; stylopodium halves ascending, often reddish, styles ascending, to 1.5 mm long
Flowering Period:  March, April
Habitat:   Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype:  Euro-Siberian - Med - Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:  Ephemeral

Scandix pecten-veneris, Shepherd's needle, Venus' needle, shepherdsneedle, מסרק שולמית
Location: Neot Kedumim


Derivation of the botanical name:
Scandix, Greek skandix or skandikos which was used by Aristophanes (ca.456 – ca.386 BCE) and Theophrastus (370 — ca.285 BCE), to chervil, which later became the Latin scandix.
pecten-veneris, pecten, a comb, rake; vener, generative of venus, Venus, goddess of love; Venus' comb.
The Hebrew name: מסרק, masrek, New Hebrew, Venus’ comb, Scandix; from מסרק compare the English name ‘Venus’ comb’.
  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.

Israel, Native plants, Botany, Palestine, Flowers
Location: Neot Kedumim