Convolvulus scammonia, Scammony, Syrian bindweed,
Hebrew:חבלבל רפואי, Arabic: المحمودة

Scientific name:		Convolvulus scammonia L.
Common name:		Scammony, Syrian bindweed
Hebrew name:		חבלבל רפואי
Arabic name:		المحمودة
Family:		Convolvulaceae, Bindweed family, חבלבליים

Life form:		Glabrous perennial
Spinescence:		no
Succulence:		no
Stems:		Stems up to 75cm, slender, trailing or twining, herbaceous
Leaves:		Simple, petiolate, triangular-ovate or lanceolate, sagittate(=shaped like an arrowhead), entire
Inflorescence:		Peduncles axillary, mostly longerthan bracts, frequently with more than 3 flowers
Flowers:		Sepals, emarginate and apiculate; corolla 25-45mm, pale yellow
Fruits / pods:		Capsule usually 4-seeded
Flowering Period:		April, May, June
Habitat:		Disturbed habitats, בultivated areas, weeds
Distribution:		Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands
Chorotype:		Mediterranean
Summer shedding:		Ephemeral

Derivation of the botanical name: Convolvulus, Latin, convolvere, "to twine around"; "a bindweed" (Plinius), from convolvo, volvi, volutum, ere "to droll together, roll up, intertwine." scammonia, resin from the root of Convolvulus scammonia, a mild cathartic gum-resin. The Hebrew word chavalval, חבלבול. Shaul Tchernichovsky (1875 – 1943), poem: "You Are So Fragrant" (19.7.1929):... ניחוחם של חבלבלים, nichucham shel chavalvalim, fragrance of Convolvulus (Tchernichovsky's Note: chavalval, חבלבול, Convolvulus L. Winde, Bindweed, Вьюнок). The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy. Theophrastus, who wrote his Enquiry into Plants around 300 BCE, mentions Convolvulus scammonia, Scammony, as a plant with medical properties but does not elaborate. Enquiry into Plants: Book 4.5.1. seeks cold regions; Book IX of the juices of plants, and the medicinal properties of herbs: 9.1.3. root produces a gum; 9.1.4. gum has medical properties; 9.9.1 root and juice used 9.20.5.juice only used. Pliny the Elder (23-79CE), Natural History discusses the use of Scammony at lenght. Book XIV 110, XXV 54, XXVI 59, 90, 93, 114, 157, XXVII 79