Artemisia monosperma, Artemisia deliliana, Artemisia inculta,
Hebrew: לענה חד-זרעית, Arabic: عدار-عاذر, Egypt: ليل

Scientific name:  Artemisia monosperma Delile
Synonym name:  Artemisia deliliana Besser, Artemisia inculta Sieber ex DC.
Hebrew name:  לענה חד-זרעית
Arabic name:  عدار-عاذر
Egypt:  ليل
Family:  Compositae / Asteraceae, מורכבים

Artemisia monosperma, Artemisia deliliana, Artemisia inculta, לענה חד-זרעית

Life form:  Chamaephyte
Succulence:  Leaf succulent
Stems:  Glaucous glabrous low shrub, 40-120cm; stems numerous branched, erect or ascending suculate
Leaves:  Succulent, alternate, dissected, smooth
Flowers:  Monoecious, yellow
Fruits / pods:  Achenes
Flowering Period:  September, October, November, December
Habitat:  Sand
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype:  Saharo-Arabian
Summer shedding:  perennating

Artemisia monosperma, Artemisia deliliana, Artemisia inculta, לענה חד-זרעית


Derivation of the botanical name:
Artemisia, Ἀρτεμισία, referring to the Greek goddess Artemis who so benefited from a plant of this family that she gave it her own name. Plants described by Dioscorides & Pliny like wormword or mugwort from which the genus name Artemisia is taken. An alternative possibility for the derivation of this name is that it comes from Queen Artemisia II of Caria, sister and wife of King Mausolus, who ruled after his death from 352 to 350 BCE. and built during her short reign one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, which she unfortunately did not live to see the completion of.
monosperma, monos μονοϛ,alone, only; forsaken; sperma σπερμα, seed, germ; single seeded.
The Hebrew word: לענה, la`anah, from Arabic root meaning to curse.
  • The standard author abbreviation Delile is used to indicate Alire Raffeneau Delile (1778–1850), a French botanist.
  • The standard author abbreviation Besser is used to indicate Wilibald Swibert Joseph Gottlieb von Besser (1784–1842), an Austrian-born botanist and naturalist, who lived and worked in the territory of Western Ukraine (Halychyna)
  • The standard author abbreviation Sieber is used to indicate Franz Sieber (1789–1844), Czech botanist and collector who travelled in Europe, the Middle East, Southern Africa and Australia.
  • The standard author abbreviation DC. is used to indicate Augustin Pyramus de Candolle (1778–1841), a Swiss botanist.
Weedy species often seen along roadsides and other disturbed ground.
Artemisia monosperma is a species in which germination is regulated by the location of the seed below the sand surface. Important is the location of the seed in the soil, the soil water content and the light requirement of the achenes.

Artemisia monosperma, Artemisia deliliana, Artemisia inculta, לענה חד-זרעית