June 2016

Summary of Kalanit study tour to Mt. Hermon 1 & 2 June 2015

Avi Shmida, Department of Ecology and Evolution and the Center for the Study of Rationality, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. avi.shmida@gmail.com
Gadi Pollak, Kalanit editorial, gadpollak@gmail.com
Erga Aloni participated

Keywords: Irano-Turanian region, Sorbus torminalis, Consolida pygmaea, timberline, Scorzonera meyeri, Alpine belt, Ajuga chamaepitys ssp. tridactylites, Triticum dicoccoides, Tragacanth Vegetation, Bola'n valley, Campanula cymbalaria, glaciers

The vegetation belts of the lower Hermon elevations were briefly surveyed and most of the study tour focused on the Tragacanth belt vegetation on the Hermon, in the Mizpe Shlagim  area and the eastern section of the Bola'n Valley.  The difference between the Tragacanth Alpinic surroundings, which are very dry in summer, compared to the classic Alpine surrounding, where there are summer rains and low temperatures, was emphasized. This difference manifests itself in the different characteristics of the vegetation, and explains the ability of special annual plants to grow in this belt on the Hermon.

Full Hebrew version


The Mount Hermon Oak (Quercus look) – a species unique to the Hermon

Michael Avishai, The University Botanical Garden Jerusalem. michavish@gmail.com

Keywords: Quercus libani, Quercus ithaburensis, Quercus boissieri, Quercus look, Quercus cerris, Fagaceae, Karl Georg, Theodor Kotschy.

The Mount Hermon Oak (Quercus look Kotschy) is a species unique to the Hermon, the Lebanese Mountains, and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, whose uniqueness in the genus Quercus was unknown.  Its identifying features, compared to those of  other species of oak on the Hermon, are discussed in light of molecular tests. In addition, the status of the Mount Hermon Oak as a valid species within the Quercus genus is discussed, as well as its relationship to close or adjacent  species, such as the Turkish Oak (Quercus cerris), and its evolution.

Full Hebrew version

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