Ecballium elaterium (L.) A.Rich.

Common Name: Balhat juha, Tarbiqa, Eshbet Benjoha
Family: Cucuribitaceae

General Appearance

Ecballium elaterium (L.) A.Rich., it is a prostrate, hispid or scabrous, fleshy perennial herb, up to 60 cm long. Leaves triangular-cordate, up to cm long, sinuate-toothed to obscurely lobed. undulate at margin, tomentose beneath; tendrils absent. Flowers c. 2.5 cm in diameter, yellow. male in racemes. Females solitary. Fruit oblong-ovoid, nodding. 3~5 cm long green, hispid. echinulate. explosively detaching itself on maturity and squirting out the seeds from the aperture at its base. Seeds narrowly obovate to elliptic in outline, dark amber-brown. Surface rugulose.

Flowering in: Al. the year. , specially Feb.-Sept

Life Form

H

Phytochoria

MED+IT. The native range of this species is Canary Islands, Medit. to S. European Russia and N. Iran.

Distribution in Libya

Al-Jafarah Plain:  Sabrata 2008

Zliten-Misurata Plain:  Leptus Megna 2004

Benghazi Plain:  Wadi El-Ghattara 2010 Wadi El-Enaghar 2021

Jabal Nafusa:  Khoms??  Msallata National Park (Shaafeen) 2013

Al-Jabal Al-Akhder:  (87 km) from Baida 1972  Wadi Al-Agar 1999  Wadi Zaza 2003  El-Hamamah to Biada 2003  El-Bakur 2007  Wadi El-Kouf 2014  Wadi Haboon 2015  Wadi Zaza 2017  Ain Mara 2020  Wadi Al-Kouf 2021

Marmarica Plateau:  Marmarica (north-eastern part of Libya) 2002

First: Encyclopedia Flora of Libyan:

Jafri, S.M.H. & El-Gadi, A. (1977) Flora of Libya, Cucuribitaceae Vol.  (32)  Department of Botany, Al-Faateh Univ., Tripoli, Libya. Page. 5.

Second: Researches and PhD theses, master theses, Sorted by Newest:

Al-Traboulsi, M. & Alaib, M.A. (2021) A Survey of medicinal plants of Wadi Al-Kouf in Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar, Libya. NAT. CROAT, VOL. 30. No 2. (389-404), ZAGREB. December 31, 2021. https://hrcak.srce.hr/269442https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/390805

Medicinal plants of Wadi Al-Kouf in Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar, Libya. 2021

Omar, N., El-Mghrbi, N.G., Rahil, R.O., Alaib, M.A., Alzerbi, A.K. (2021) Floristic Composition and Plant Diversity of Western Part of Wadi El- Enaghar, Libya. Species-22(70), 2021. pp. (204-217). http://www.discoveryjournals.org/Species/current_issue/2021/v22/n70/index.htm, http://www.discoveryjournals.org/Species/current_issue/2021/v22/n70/A4.pdf

Floristic Composition and Plant Diversity of Western Part of Wadi El- Enaghar, Libya. 2021.-مضغوط

Saaed, M.W.B., EL-Barasi, Y.M. & Rahil, R.O. (2021) An updated checklist and quantitative analysis of the Marmarica Plateau flora, in the north-eastern part of Libya. Phytotaxa 509 (1): 001-055. https://phytotaxa.mapress.com/pt/article/view/phytotaxa.509.1.1

An-updated-checklist-and-quantitative-analysis-of-the-Marmarica-Plateau-flora-مضغوط

Al-Maqsabi, F. M. & Makhlouf, M. A. (2020) Vegetation cover in the Ain Mara region, Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar region – Libya. The Libyan Journal of Science (An International Journal): Volume 23, 2020. (In Arabic) https://uot.edu.ly/journals/index.php/ljs/article/view/122, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Farag-Elmokasabi-2

الغطاء النباتي في منطقة عين مارة بمنطقة الجبل الاخضر2020

Mukassabi, T.A., Thomas, P.A., ELMogasapi, A. (2017) Medicinal plants in Cyrenaica, Libya: existence and extinction. Biological Diversity and Conservation – 10/2 (2017) 183-192. https://eprints.keele.ac.uk/id/eprint/4064/

Medicinal plants in Cyrenaica, Libya 2017

Al-Masalati, N. A. A. (2013) Plant diversity across the altitudes of the Msallata National Park Reserve Mountains. Master Thesis. Botany Department-College of Science-University of Benghazi-Libya. (In Arabic).

El-Rabiai, G.T., Al tira, F.M., Lamlom, S.H. (2010) Preliminary Checklist for the Flora of Wadi El Ghattara in Libya. Garyounis University Press Journal of Science and Its Applications Vol. 4, No. 1, pp 39-47, December 2010. https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Wz8jpkIAAAAJ&hl=ar, https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ALTsoucAAAAJ&hl=en,   https://journals.uob.edu.ly/index.php/sjuob/issue/view/71

Checklist for the Flora of Wadi El Ghattara in Libya. 2010

El-Yafour, L. A. (2008) Taxonomic study of the vegetation properties of Sabratha city Master Thesis. Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Al-Zawiya University, Libya. (In Arabic).

Abd Al-lkhaleq, Y. M. (2007) Vegetation Coverage of El-Bakur Highlands in Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar. Master Thesis, Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Garyounis University, Libya. (In Arabic).

El-Komati, A. F. (2004) Medicinal plants in the Shapiat of Marqab, their distribution, classification and importance. Master Thesis. Biology Department- Faculty of Science-Al-Marqab University. Al-Khums. Libya. (In Arabic).

Al-Sodany, Y. M., Shehata, M. N. & Shaltout, K. H. (2003): Vegetation along an elevation gradient in Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar, Libya. ecologia mediterranea, tome 29, fascicule 2, 2003, p. 125-138. https://www.persee.fr/doc/ecmed_0153-8756_2003_num_29_2_1547https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yassin-Al-Sodany, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kamal-Shaltout

Vegetation along an elevation gradient in Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar, Libya. 2003

El-Barasi, Y. M., EI-Sherif, l. M. & Gawhari, A. M. H. (2003) Checklist and analysis of the flora and vegetation of Wadi Zaza at AI-Jabal AI Akhdar (Cyrenaica, Libya). Bocconea 16 (2): 1091-1105. 2003. – ISSN 1120-4060. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Yacoub-El-Barasi, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ahmed-Gawharihttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/281559070_Checklist_and_analysis_of_the_flora_and_vegetation_of_Wadi_Zaza_at_AI-Jabal_AI_Akhdar_Cyrenaica_Libya

Flora and vegetation of Wadi Zaza at Al-Jabal AI Akhdar 2003-مضغوط

El-Shaary M.S. (2002). The Natural Vegetation in Marmarica plateau (North-eastern Libya). First ed. Tobruk (Libya): Published by the local Authority. (In Arabic).

Al-Hamadi R.I. (1999) Floristic and ecological study of Wadi Al-Agar, Master Thesis, Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Botany Department-Faculty of Science-Garyounis University, Benghazi, Libya. (In Arabic).

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