Foto Friday – Wildflowers

March 21, 2009 - 11:46 AM by

The rainy season is almost at an end and the country is a-flower. Everywhere you look – the side of the highway, the vacant lot behind your building, and of course, the fields and hillsides – are a riot of red poppies and yellow daisies.

The website, Wild Flowers of Israel, a labor of love aimed at plant aficionados of all walks of life and all ages. It was started by photographer Sara Gold, Prof. Amram Eshel, a professor of botany at Tel-Aviv University, and programmer Abraham Plotnizki, using materials donated by some very talented volunteer photographers.

lotononis-platycarpaPhoto: Mori Chen

“Flowering Times” is one great feature the site offers. This is the high season for flowering plants — including desert tall grasses like this:

tetrapogon-villosusPhoto: Mori Chen

The site includes information about plants for herbal or medicinal uses, toxic plants, flowering seasons, protected species and more. Special emphasis has also been given to the linkage between the plants and the Jewish traditions and scholarly literature

geranium-mollePhoto: Sara Gold

The red anemone — calanit in Hebrew — is a favorite in Israel, having been immortalized in song by the legendary Shoshana Damari.

anemone-coronariaPhoto: Amram Eshel

Another is the bashful cyclamen — or rakefet — which hides between the rocks and blooms only briefly. The song Rakefet, as sung by Esther and Avi Ofarim is another classic.

cyclamen-persicumPhoto: Eli Livne

There’s still time enough to get out and see some wildflowers for real, and of course, there are large format images to enjoy online, too.

Tags: , , , , , , , , • Category: Environment, Foto Friday, General, Israeliness 

Comments

5 Comments on Foto Friday – Wildflowers

  1. Carl Muller on Wed, Mar 25th 2009 1:13 PM

    2. And it was declared by the prophet “and the desert will bloom again”….about 2300 years ago….

  2. Arthur on Thu, Mar 26th 2009 9:39 AM

    3. Oh! It’s so beautiful! A lot of people need such information. I’m PhD in biology, but I don’t know a lot of Israel plants, and no one around can explain me about them! How can I get some sort of excursion about widespreaded plants of Israel (Jerusalem)?

  3. Rachel on Thu, Mar 26th 2009 10:07 PM

    4. The Society for Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) has a program called Sustainable Jerusalem whose projects include a wildflower sanctuary. http://www.aspni.org/aspni_jerusalem.html. Contact details for Wildflowers in Israel are available on the site: http://www.wildflowers.co.il/english/

  4. Maya on Tue, Apr 21st 2009 12:27 PM

    5. Also, if you just go to the Golan in the spring time (we were just there in Pesach) you’ll see more gorgeous wildflowers than you can imagine. BREATHTAKING. A bit earlier in the spring, go to Har Gilboa and see irises!

  5. Foto Friday – Winter Wildflower Wonderland | ISRAELITY on Fri, Feb 3rd 2012 7:49 PM

    6. [...] nature photographers take note: Wildflowers in Israel, in conjunction with Jerusalem Botanical Gardens and FujiFilm, is holding a photo contest and there [...]

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