Kalanit
Israel Plant Magazine
December 2014
On the biology and systematics of Theligonum cynocrambe
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
Keywords: articles and reports, flowering and pollination, seasonal plants, monoecious, annuals, wind-pollinated, Rubiaceae, winter bloomers, protogyny
Among the first plants to bloom in the Israeli winter the Dog's Cabbage (Theligonum cynocrambe) is probably the most common. Due to its being wind-pollinated, with tiny greenish flowers, we do not notice it. However, anyone observing and studying the plant will discover wonders, and will be able to check whether the theories about sexual types in plants and animals also work in practice.
Zaleya pentandra – a new site in the Beit She'an Valley
Alon Singer, the Gene Bank, the Agricultural Research Organization, the Volcani Institute. singer@volcani.agri.gov.il
Tomer Faraj, the Gene Bank, the Agricultural Research Organization, the Volcani Institute. tomerf@vocani.agri.gov.il
Erez Rahamim, Gene Bank, the Agricultural Research Organization, the Volcani Institute. erezr@volcani.agri.gov.il
Ran Lotan, Seed collection for preservation on behalf of the Gene Bank, Agricultural Research Organization, the Volcani Institute. ranlotan@walla.com
Keywords: news and dicoveries, nature conservation, red species, Gene Bank, Aizoaceae, Kfar Rupin, Beit She'an Valley, endangered plant
Zaleya is a small genus that belongs to the Aizoaceae family that is common in equatorial and eastern Africa, and includes three species. The only species to be found in Israel is the Zaleya pentandra (L) Jefrey – a prostrate, fleshy annual, which is common in open Savanna regions in Africa, and can also be found in the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt and Jordan, especially in irrigated habitats.
A new population of the endangered species Zaleya pentandra was discovered in a date plantation in Kibbutz Kfar Rupin in the Beit She'an Valley. A description of the population, and means for preserving the species are discussed in the article.
The endangered plant Bird's-eye Cress (Myagrum perfoliatum) was discovered in the southern coastal plain
Gadi Pollak, Kalanit editorial, gadpollak@gmail.com
Keywords: news and discoveries, endangered species, conservation, distribution of plants in Israel, heavy soil, Rapistrum rugosum, Brassicaceae, southern Coastal plain, Ayanot meadow
The Bird's-eye Cress (Myagrum perfoliatum) from the Brassicaceae family is a rare, endangered plant in Israel, which grows on heavy soils that are flooded in winter. To the present the plant was only known in the Lower Galilee, and was recently discovered in an additional area – at the Ayanot meadow in the southern coastal plain. The significance of the discovery for nature preservation is discussed in the article.
About the Senecio leucanthemifolius group in Israel and its environs
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: articles and reports, self-incompatibility, self-pollination, heterocarpy, annuals, Asteraceae, colonizer, inbreeding depression, Senecio hoggariensis, Senecio glaucus, Senecio joppensis, Senecio vulgaris, Senecio flavus, male infertility, weed, winter bloomers, ligular flower, tubular flower, pappus, flowering head.
There are five species of the genus Senecio that grow in Israel and its environs, they are all annuals, two of them bloom early and dominate in yellow expanses: Senecio leucanthemifolius in the rainy region, and Senecio glaucus in the desert. This group of species demonstrates central principles in the propagation biology of plants, on a genetic, molecular, ecological, evolutionary and bio-geographic bases.
Kalanit study tour in the eastern Lower Galilee
Hagar Leshner, director of the herbarium collections, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. hagarv@savion.huji.ac.il
Mimi Ron, Gadi Pollak and Avi Shmida participated in preparing the summary.
The eastern Lower Galilee is a low area, whose ridges reach an altitude of 300 meters only (approximately 500 meters above the Sea of Galilee). This region is in a partial "rain shadow" of the Central Galilee ridges. Many parts of this region are covered with basalt wastes, originating in the Golan Heights. The combination of all these factors results in this region being relatively dry. For this reason the blooming in the eastern Lower Galilee begins relatively early, and ends early as well. Emphasis was given to the blooming of Anemone coronaria, Hycinthus orientalis and Ricota lunaria.
