Kalanit
Israel Plant Magazine
April 2015
How far north does Acacia raddiana grow?
Avi Shmida, the Department of Evolution, Systematics and Behavior, and the Federmann Center for the Study of Rationality at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Givat Ram. avi.shmida@gmail.com
Oz Golan, The Center for Materials Engineering and Processes, Afeka College for Engineering in Tel-Aviv. golanoz.me@gmail.com
Mimi Ron, Deshse Institute and the Kalanait circle, mimiron47@gmail.com
Keywords: Jordan Valley, Prosopis juliflora, Jericho, Western Negev, Northern Negev, Faza'el, plants of Israel, Sudanian flora, Mimosaceae. Leguminosae
A discovery of a new site of the Twisted Acacia (Acacia raddiana) at the Faza'el Wadi at the Kalanit study tour of March 2015, once again raises the question of the northernmost border of its distribution in Israel and the world, and sharpens the problem of the conservation of this important tree. Until recently the northernmost known site of the Twisted Acacia in the rift valley was in Jericho. A summary of the existing material about the northernmost distribution sites of the Twisted Acacia reveals that many trees in this border zone have become extinct, and since the work by Gideon Halevi (1971) there is a lack of current geographic documentation of the northern distribution sites.
Nature and language
Uri Rosenberg agron@netvision.net.il
Keywords: window tot he past, Eliahu Sapir, Dinsmore, The Hebrew Language Academy, Judah Felix, Emanuel Lev, Israel Reichert, plant names, Passiflora, plants of Israel
A short historical survey of the renewal and institution of Hebrew names to the plants of Eretz Israel in the last 150 years, and a quotation from an article on the subject from 1912, written by Israel Reichert, the father of the phytopathology in Israel, and winner of the Israel Prize.
The Ivy-leaved Toadflax – a local wild plant or a foreign species that acclimatized in Israel?
Erga Aloni, the Kalanit editorial ergaloni@netvision.net.il
Keywords: flowering, pollination, alien, invasive, spur, Scrophulariaceae, Plantaginaceae, Kickxia, positive phototropism, negative phototropism, bilabiate, Linaria, plants of Israel
The Ivy-leaved Toadflax (Cymbalaria muralis) is an herbaceous plant, which grows as a local wild plant in Jerusalem. It also grows in cultivated gardens in various other locations in Israel. It is not clear whether the Ivy-leaved Toadflax is actually a local wild plant or was brought over to the country in the past by man, and is a foreign plant that spread. The article deals with the plant's special characteristics, the locations where it grows, and the question of its distribution and arrival to the country.
The Kalanit study tour in the eastern Upper Galilee
Avi Shmida, the Department of Evolution, and Behavior, and the Federmann Center for the Study of Rationality at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Givat Ram. avi.shmida@gmail.com
Participated in the preparation of the summary and photography: Mimi Ron, Gadi Pollak, Yoel Melamed, Miriam Milo, Erga Aloni, Lior Almagor, Galit Moshe, Yishai Shmidov, Yael Orgad
Keywords: plants of Israel, wild wheat, barley, Allium, Fumaria officinalis, Iris lortetii, Trifolium
The rainy season of 2014-15 was indeed exceptional in terms of the quantity of rain, and its good distribution. The peak of the Spring flowering continued until the middle of April. Although patches of dry annuals turning yellow are still to be seen in the transition zone, the heavy rainfalls of April 11-12 have led to the Spring flowering continuing until the end of April. In high altitudes the Spring flowering is expected to continued well into May. The vegetation is having a ball, and the whole Mediterranean region is flowering and exceptionally green this year.
The Common Fumitory – a new species in Israel that is displacing the common species of Fumaria?
Avi Shmida, the Department of Evolution and Behavior, and the Federmann Center for the Study of Rationality at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Givat Ram. avi.shmida@gmail.com
Keywords: alien, annuals, self-pollination, Golan, Upper Galilee, species diversity, Fumariaceae, plants of Israel, Mediterranean, invasive
In April 2015 we observed the flora in areas of the eastern Upper Galilee, and discovered that in many natural habitats the Common Fumitory (Fumaria officinalis) grows, rather than the Fumaria species that are common in our country – the Dense-Flowered Fumitory (Fumaria densiflora) and the Small-flowered Fumitory(Fumaria parviflora), as we had expected. The Common Fumitory is a European species, which was first described in Israel only in 2011. Is it a new invasive plant that is pushing the local species of Fumaria out?
The Wild Wheat – the discovery in Eretz Israel, and the beginning of research on the wheat in the country.
Hagar Leshner, the Hebrew University Herbarium, Jerusalem. hagarv@savion.huji.ac.il
Keywords: edible plants, medicinal plants, Aaronsohn, Aegilops, Gramineae, Warburg, cultivation, kotschyi, Körnicke, Triticum
The Wild Wheat was known already in the 18th Century. Carl Linnaeus, father of modern taxonomy of living organisms, described it in one of his publications. Aaron Aaronsohn was sent to find the Wild Wheat in Eretz Israel, and when he found it, continued his research on wheat, and proved the genetic connection between the Wild wheat "the mother of wheat" and the cultivated wheat.
Collection by bees of the pollen of the Kermes Oak
Gila Allon, the David Yellin Academic College of Education, Jerusalem, Gila04@gmail.com
Keywords: flowering, insect pollination, wind pollination, male investment, female investment, Urginea maritima, Ceratonia siliqua, Salix, Quercus, plants of Israel
Plants whose flowers are pollinated by wind are known as lacking reward for pollinators having a minute corolla of creamy-greenish color. Accordingly, as a general rule pollinators do not visit them. We were surprised to discover that honey bees repeatedly visit the male flowers of the Kermes Oak (Quercus calliprinos) and gather pollen. The article deals with the phenomenon and its significance.
