Eremostachys laciniata, Phlomis laciniata,
Desert spike, Cut leaved phlomis,
Hebrew: צמר מפוצל, Arabic: ذيل الثعلب , هجنبل
Scientific name:  Eremostachys laciniata (L.) Bunge
Synonym name:   Phlomis laciniata L.
Common name:  Desert spike, Cut leaved phlomis
Hebrew name:  צמר מפוצל
Arabic name:  ذيل الثعلب , هجنبل
Plant Family:  Labiatae / Lamiaceae, שפתניים

פרחים וצמחי בר בארץ ישראל
Location: Bene Zion Nature Reserve

Life form:   hemicryptophyte
Stems:  30-75cm high, erect, nearly simple stems
Leaves:  Opposite, rosette; entire; dentate or serrate
Flowers:   Cream, yellow, hermaphrodite
Fruits / pods:  schizocarps. Nutlets
Flowering Period:  February, March, April
Habitat:   Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Med - Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:  Ephemeral

Eremostachys laciniata, Phlomis laciniata, Desert spike, Cut leaved phlomis, צמר מפוצל, ذيل الثعلب , هجنبل
Location: Bene Zion Nature Reserve


Derivation of the botanical name:
Eremostachys, eremos, "solitary," and stachys, "an ear of corn or other grain," and thus meaning "bearing a single spike."
laciniata means “slashed or torn into narrow divisions”, and refers to the heavily lobed leaves.
Phlomis, Greek name for some plant without application here to these plants; Jerusalem sage.
  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
  • The standard author abbreviation Bunge is used to indicate Alexander Andrejewitsch von Bunge (1803 – 1890), German-Russian botanist.
See the list of Medicinal herbs in Israel, the parts used and their medical uses to treat various diseases.


Flowers of Israel online, Native Plants
Location: Bene Zion Nature Reserve