Flora of Israel: Moluccella laevis

Moluccella laevis, Molucca balm, Shell flower, Bells of Ireland,
Hebrew: בר-גביע חלק, Arabic: ذبيبينة ناعمة


Scientific name:		Moluccella laevis L.
Common name:		Molucca balm, Shell flower, Bells of Ireland
Hebrew name:		בר-גביע חלק
Arabic name:		ذبيبينة ناعمة
Family:		Labiatae / Lamiaceae, שפתניים


Life form:		Therophyte, annual
Spinescence:		Bracts
Stems:		Up to 90 cm tall
Leaves:		Opposite, entire, dentate or serrate
Inflorescence:		Inconspicuous; verticillasters, many-flowered
Flowers:		White; calyx conspicuous, cup-shaped, green
Fruits / pods:		Nutlets
Flowering Period:		April, May, June
Habitat:		Cultivated areas
Distribution:		Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands
Chorotype:		Mediterranean
Summer shedding:		Ephemeral

Moluccella laevis, Molucca balm, Shell flower, Bells of Ireland, ذبيبينة ناعمة,בר-גביע חלק

Derivation of the botanical name:
Moluccella, Shell-flower; derivation of the name is uncertain; some say: from the Indonesian Molucca Islands; Umberto Quattrocchi says: "Presumably from an Arabic word meaning "king" or a diminutive of Molucca."
laevis, smooth.
The Hebrew name: בר-גביע, bar-gvia; בר, bar (= clean, pure); גביע (= cup, goblet; cup of a flower, calyx).

The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.

Moluccella laevis, Molucca balm, Shell flower, Bells of Ireland, בר-גביע חלק

_{Location: Maagan Kibbutz Holiday Village - Sea of Galilee}