Wildflowers

FLORA AND FAUNA

Wildflowers

The winter rains turn the hills green, and from December to April wildflowers cover much of the country. Many species are protected, and picking them is against the law. These six are among the best known.

Red anemone Red carpets of winter

כלניתAnemone coronaria

The red anemone, kalanit in Hebrew, carpets hillsides, fields, and roadsides from December to March. It is the best-known wildflower of the Israeli winter, and crowds visit the fields where it grows. Every year, a festival called Darom Adom, Red South, marks its bloom in the northwestern Negev. The flowers open in sunshine and close at night or in rain. Wild anemones can also be white, pink, or purple, though red is by far the most common. Picking them is forbidden.

Glossary: Red anemone

Cyclamen Pink blooms from the rocks

רקפתCyclamen persicum

The cyclamen, raqefet in Hebrew, grows from rocky crevices in the hills of the Galilee, the Carmel, and Judea. Its pink or white flowers appear from November to March, held above heart-shaped leaves with silver patterns. After blooming, the stem curls down and pulls the seed pod toward the ground. Ants then carry the seeds away. It is protected, but cultivated cyclamens are widely sold as pot plants, and many Israelis plant them in winter window boxes.

Glossary: Cyclamen

Sea daffodil

A white star on the dunes

חבצלת החוףPancratium maritimum

The sea daffodil, a white, sweet-smelling flower, blooms on coastal sand dunes in late summer, at a time when most other flowers have faded. It grows from a deep bulb and survives heat, salt spray, and shifting sand. Coastal building has destroyed many of its habitats, and the flower is now protected. Its Hebrew name recalls the chavatzelet of the Song of Songs, though scholars disagree about which plant that verse describes. Visitors may still find it on beaches in August and September.

Glossary: Sea daffodil

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FLORA AND FAUNA

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Gilboa iris

A rare purple iris

אירוס הגלבועIris haynei

The Gilboa iris is a large, deep purple flower that grows wild on Mount Gilboa, in the north of the country, and almost nowhere else. It blooms for only a few weeks, in February and March, and hundreds of visitors travel to the ridge each spring to see it. The mountain is also named in the Bible, in David's lament for Saul and Jonathan. The iris is protected, and the Nature and Parks Authority has marked paths so that visitors do not trample the plants.

Glossary: Gilboa iris

Poppy

Fields of red

פרגPapaver

In March and April, wild poppies spread across fields, roadsides, and empty lots, often next to yellow crown daisies. Their paper-thin petals fall within a day or two of opening, but new blooms replace them for weeks. They thrive in disturbed soil, so they grow thickly beside plowed fields and new roads. Poppies are common in Europe as well, and in much of the world they are worn as a flower of remembrance. In Israel they simply mark the arrival of spring.

Glossary: Poppy

Narcissus

Fragrance in the winter fields

נרקיס מצויNarcissus tazetta

The narcissus, a small white flower with a yellow cup at its center, grows in damp fields and valleys during the winter months. Several flowers bloom together on one stem, and their strong sweet scent can be noticed from a distance. The plant grows from a bulb and spreads in clusters. Its scent has been used in perfumes for centuries. It is a protected species, and groups of walkers often search for it on winter hikes in the Galilee and along the coastal plain.

Glossary: Narcissus

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