Paronychia argentea, Silver nailroot, Silvery Whitlow Wort,
Hebrew: אלמוות הכסף, Arabic: رجل الحمامة

Scientific name:  Paronychia argentea Lam.
Common name:  Silver nailroot, Silvery Whitlow Wort
Hebrew name:   אלמוות הכסף
Arabic name:   رجل الحمامة
Family:  Caryophyllaceae, ציפורניים

Paronychia argentea, Silver nailroot, Silvery Whitlow Wort, אלמוות הכסף  رجل الحمامة

Life form:  Hemicryptophyte
Stems:  stems 15-30cm, usually creeping, much branched, mat forming
Leaves:  Opposite, ovate-lanceolate; entire margins
Flowers:  Inflorescence, cyme; 5 White, yellow petals
Fruits / pods:  Achenes
Flowering Period:   January, February, March, April
Habitat:   Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:  Mediterranean
Summer shedding:  Perennating

Paronychia argentea, Silver nailroot, Silvery Whitlow Wort, אלמוות הכסף  رجل الحمامة


Derivation of the botanical name:
Paronychia, Greek, para, by the side of, near; onyx, nail; "a whitlow," a painful abscess on the side of the nail at the end of a finger or toe. One of the common names for Paronychia is whitlow-wort, an herb thought to be a cure for whitlow.
argentea, silvery.
The Hebrew name:אלמות,אלמוות, almavet, in the Bible, Proverbs 12:28 "In the way of righteousness there is life; along that path is immortality". What makes the plant unique is not its white flowers, but the bracts that remain even after the flower's emergence - so it is called "immortal."
  • The standard author abbreviation Lam. is used to indicate Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744 – 1829), a French soldier, naturalist, academic.
See the list of Medicinal herbs in Israel, the parts used and their medical uses to treat various diseases.

Paronychia argentea, Silver nailroot, Silvery Whitlow Wort, אלמוות הכסף  رجل الحمامة