Silene gallica, Windmill pink, Common Catchfly,
Small-flowered Catchfly, French Catchfly, Gunpowder-weed,
Hebrew: ציפורנית צרפתית, Arabic: السيلينة الفرنسية

Scientific name:  Silene gallica L.
Common name:  Windmill pink, Common Catchfly, Small-flowered Catchfly, French Catchfly, Gunpowder-weed
Hebrew name:  ציפורנית צרפתית
Arabic name:  السيلينة الفرنسية
Family:  Caryophyllaceae, ציפורניים

Israel native Plants
Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool

Life form:  Annual
Leaves:  opposite; entire, smooth margins
Flowers:  Red, pink; hermaphrodite
Flowering Period:   February, March, April
Habitat:  Sand
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Med - Euro-Siberian
Summer shedding:  Ephemeral

Israel, Blooming, Palestine, Native plants, Nature, Travel
Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool


Derivation of the botanical name:
Silene, probably from Greek sialon, "saliva," referring to gummy exudation on stems, and/or named for Silenus, intoxicated foster-father of Bacchus (god of wine) who was covered with foam, much like the glandular secretions of many species of this genus.
gallica, from France.
The Hebrew name: צפרנית, tsipornit, from ציפורן, tsiporen (Dianthus).
  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.

Silene gallica, Windmill pink, Common Catchfly, Small-flowered Catchfly, French Catchfly, Gunpowder-weed, ציפורנית צרפתית
Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool


Silene gallica, Windmill pink, Common Catchfly, Small-flowered Catchfly, French Catchfly, Gunpowder-weed, ציפורנית צרפתית
Location: Netanya, the Dora rain pool