Valantia muralis, Aspera muralis, Aspera nutans,
Galium vexans,Wall Valantia,
Hebrew: חגוית החומות, Arabic: فلنتية الحيطان

Scientific name:  Valantia muralis L.
Synonym name:  Aspera muralis (L.) Lowe, Aspera nutans Moench, Galium vexans Rchb.f.
Common name:  Wall Valantia
Hebrew name:  חגוית החומות
Arabic name:  فلنتية الحيطان
Family:  Rubiaceae, madder family, bedstraw family, פואתיים

Valantia muralis, Aspera muralis, Aspera nutans, Galium vexans, Wall Valantia, חגוית החומות,  فلنتية الحيطان

Life form:  Therophyte, annual
Stems:  Up to 15cm tall; peduncle and pedicels broadly coa
Leaves:  3-6.5x2-2.5, obtuse, whorled, peduncle and pedicels with conspicuous dorsal horn; horn and pedicels with hooked bristels
Inflorescence:  whorls of short, axillary 3-flowered cymes; central flower hermaphrodite
Flowers:  Hermaphrodite flower 1-1.6mm, corolla 4-lobed; lateral flowers male, corolla 3-lobed; yellow, green
Fruits / pods:  Mericarps usually 1, 1–1.2 mm, smooth
Flowering Period:  March, April
Habitat:  Mediterranean coast
Distribution:  The Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands
Chorotype:  Mediterranean
Summer shedding:  Ephemeral

Valantia muralis, Aspera muralis, Aspera nutans, Galium vexans, Wall Valantia, חגוית החומות,  فلنتية الحيطان


Derivation of the botanical name:
Valantia , named in honour of Sébastien Vaillant (1669 – 1722), a French botanist.
muralis, growing on walls.
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.