Zygophyllum dumosum, Bean caper plant,
Hebrew: זוגן השיח, Arabic: خريزى، خريزه

Scientific name:		Zygophyllum dumosum Boiss.
Scientific name:		Tetraena dumosa (Boiss.) Beier & Thulin
Common name:		Bushy Bean caper plant
Hebrew name:		זוגן השיח
Arabic name:		خريزى، خريزه
Plant Family:		Zygophyllaceae, Bean Caper Family, or Caltrop Family, משפחה זוגניים

Life form:		Chamaephyte, semi shrub
Succulence:		Leaf succulent
Stems:		Height 40-90cm, diffusely branched
Leaves:		Opposite, succulent; 2-foliolate with 0.5-1 cm, canescent, cylindrical, deciduous leaflets
Inflorescence:		Solitary, and axillary
Flowers:		white petals
Fruits / pods:		4-5-angled or winged capsule
Flowering Period:		February, March, April
Habitat:		Shrub-steppes, Desert
Distribution:		Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts
Summer shedding:		Perennating

n

Derivation of the botanical name: Zygophyllum, zygo (Greek), "joined, yoked"; phyllon, phyll, φυλλον, "leaf", foliage. dumosus, dumos, "full of thorn bushes, bushy". Tetraena, probably from the Greek τέτταρες ‎(téttares), "four," suffix -ένα -ena an organic compound. The Hebrew name: זוגן, zugan, from זוג, zug, pair, referring to the paired leaves of many of the species. The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810 – 1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician. Michael Evenari (1904-1989) describes, that the Zygophyllum dumosum has developed a special technique that can reduce its transpiring surface by up to 96 percent ("The Negev: the challenge of a desert"). Michael Zohary (1898-1983), a pioneering Israeli botanist, suggests on the basis of its cognate with the Arabic illam that Elim in Numbers 33:9-10 was named for Zygophyllum dumosum. Bible resources: Numbers 33:9-10 They left Marah and went to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there. They left Elim and camped by the Red Sea. Location: Nahal Shani Riverbed (red Nubbian sandstone) in the Eilat Mountains.