Hebrew: מעוג כרתי, Arabic: خبيزه
| Scientific name: | Lavatera cretica (Lam.) DC. | |
| Synonym name: | Malva linnaei M.F.Ray | |
| Common name: | Smaller Tree Mallow, Cornish Mallow | |
| Hebrew name: | מעוג כרתי | |
| Arabic name: | خبيزه | |
| Family: | Malvaceae, חלמיתיים |
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| Life form: | Annual | |
| Stems: | 20-90 cm high; single-stemmed, later branched; stellate-tomentose or slightly hispid | |
| Leaves: | Alternate, entire, dentate or serrate | |
| Inflorescence: | Inflorescence indeterminate, an initially corymbose leafy raceme; flowers borne upright, singly, in pairs, or in fasciculate clusters in the axils of upper leaves and of leaves of side shoots | |
| Flowers: | Hermaphrodite; Lilac; shape of the epicalyx segments, triangular-ovate and symmetrically disposed | |
| Fruits / pods: | Schizocarpous, verticillate | |
| Flowering Period: | February, March, April | |
| Habitat: | Ruderal | |
| Distribution: | Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon | |
| Chorotype: | Mediterranean | |
| Summer shedding: | Ephemeral |
Derivation of the botanical name: Lavatera, named after the brothers, Johann Heinrich Lavater (1611 - 1691) and Johann Jacob Lavater(1594 - 1636), Swiss (Zurich) physicians and naturalist. cretica, from the island of Crete. Malva, from the Greek word "malache", meaning "mallow" and "malakos", "soft, gentle,", referring to the abundant mucilage in certain species, which softens the skin. linnaei, named for Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778). The Hebrew name: מעוג, maog, probably from מעוג, maog, round cake (a hapax legomenon in the Bible, occurring Kin. I 17:12). probably related to עוגה, uga (=cake).
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