One of the things about touring Israel is that you get to see a lot in a small amount of space. Because Israel is located on the land bridge between Europe, Asia and Africa and extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River in the Great African Rift Valley and from the Red Sea to mountains in the north it has a diversity of climates and habitats. These unique conditions are the main cause for the rich diversity of Israeli flora, more than 2500 species (compared to 1500 in the British Isles for example which is 10 times the size).

The Sea Squill (Urginea maritima, חצב מצוי) is a perennial of the lily family with a large poisonous bulb. The squill is one of ten species of plants called geophytes which bloom before the rains in Israel, in the driest part of the year and are a harbinger of winter. This specimen was seen in the hills above Qumran in October but already mid September while on a run along the Jerusalem tayelet I saw some squill in bloom and others at the Museum HaTeva.

You also won’t see Sternbergia (Sternbergia clusiana, חלמונית) until just before the first autumn rains - don’t confuse them with the saffron and crocus that come after the first rains, these belong to the daffodil family.  This image was captured in November in the Yatir forest near Arad. Last year we found Sternbergia growing in the wadi below Maale Rehavam near Herodium.

If you are interested in touring Israel including hikes to see and/or photograph flowers please contact me. In the meantime check out these 2 excellent websites, that give you a lot of information about flowers in Israel:

http://www.wildflowers.co.il/english/
http://www.flowersinisrael.com/