Valantia hispida, Vailantia hispida,
Bristly crosswort, Hairy Valantia,
Hebrew: חגווית שעירה, Arabic: فلنتية

Scientific name:  Valantia hispida L.
Synonym name:  Vailantia hispida L.
Common name:  Bristly crosswort, Hairy Valantia
Hebrew name:  חגווית שעירה
Arabic name:  فلنتية
Family:  Rubiaceae, madder family, bedstraw family, פואתיים

Native plants of Palestine

Life form:  Annual
Stems:  Up to 20 cm tall; Peduncle and pedicel becoming strongly thickened and dorsally with many straight bristles.
Leaves:  Whorled, oblanceolate to broadly obovate, entire, smooth margin
Inflorescence:  Whorls of short, axillary 3-flowered cymes; central flower hermaphrodite
Flowers:  Hermaphrodite flower 1.5-2mm, more or less cup-shaped; yellow, green
Fruits / pods:  Mericarps usually 2, 1.1–1.4 mm, finely papillose
Flowering Period:  February, March, April
Habitat:  Hard rock outcrops
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:  Mediterranean
Summer shedding:  Ephemeral

Valantia hispida, Vailantia hispida, Bristly crosswort, Hairy Valantia, חגווית שעירה
Location: Givat-Hamoreh, Little Hermon - Nebi Dahi, גבעת המורה ,נבי דחי


Derivation of the botanical name:
Valantia , named in honour of Sébastien Vaillant (1669 – 1722), a French botanist.
hispida, bristly.
The Hebrew name: חגווית, the plant vaillantia.
  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.

Valantia hispida, Vailantia hispida, Bristly crosswort, Hairy Valantia, חגווית שעירה
Location: Givat-Hamoreh, Little Hermon - Nebi Dahi, גבעת המורה ,נבי דחי


Valantia hispida, Vailantia hispida, Bristly crosswort, Hairy Valantia, חגווית שעירה
Location: Givat-Hamoreh, Little Hermon - Nebi Dahi, גבעת המורה ,נבי דחי