Phlomis brachyodon, Short-toothed Phlomis,
Hebrew: שלהבית קצרת-שיניים, Arabic: الأذينة قصيرة الأسنان

Scientific name:  Phlomis brachyodon (Boiss.) Zohary
Synonym name:  Phlomis armeniaca var. brachyodon Boiss., Phlomis orientalis var. brachyodon (Boiss.) Boiss.
Common name:  Short-toothed Phlomis
Hebrew name:  שלהבית קצרת-שיניים
Arabic name:  الأذينة قصيرة الأسنان
Family:  Labiatae / Lamiaceae, שפתניים

Phlomis brachyodon, Short-toothed Phlomis, Hebrew: שלהבית קצרת-שיניים, Arabic: الأذينة قصيرة الأسنان

Life form:  Shrublet, chamaephyte
Stems:  Lenght of plant 25-50 cm; stems erect, simple or branched, square in section
Leaves:  With petioles up to 8mm; rosette, entire, opposite, obtuse, cordate at base, ovate-oblong to oblong lanceolate, obscurely crenulate, basal and lower cauline leaves at base at least twice as broad, thick
Inflorescence:  Verticillasters 4-8 flowered; bracteoles few, lanceolate-subulate, 3-6mm
Flowers:  Hermaphrodite only, calyx tubular, 5-10-veined, 5-toothed; corolla yellow, 2-kipped; upper lip hooded, emarginate; lower lip patent, 3-lobed
Fruits / pods:  Nutlets, four three-sided
Flowering Period:  April, May, June
Habitat:  Batha, Phrygana
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts
Chorotype:  Irano-Turanian
Summer shedding:  Perennating

Phlomis brachyodon, Short-toothed Phlomis, Hebrew: שלהבית קצרת-שיניים, Arabic: الأذينة قصيرة الأسنان


Derivation of the botanical name:
Phlomis, Greek phlomis, phlomos, ancient names for some plant, phlome, probably a species of Phlomis, or mullein, a species of Verbascum, mentioned by Theophtastus (HP.9.12.3), Plinius and Dioscorides; Plinius used Latin phlomis for mullein, verbascum.
brachyodon, Greek brachy-: a prefix indicating the characteristic of being short, odous, tooth; short tooth.
The Hebrew name: שלהבית, Shalhavit, from shalhevet, 'flame of fire', because of the yellow color. The name Phlomis derives from a Greek word for "flame".
  • The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810 – 1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician.
  • The standard author abbreviation Zohary is used to indicate Michael Zohary (1898 – 1983), a pioneering Israeli botanist.