-
Schouwia purpurea is a desert short lived perennial. It grows in the Sahara and Arabian deserts.
-
Arabidopsis thaliana is a shy annual plant. It will well known for its use in genetic research due tothe fact that it has a sfourt life cycle, hence its easy to trace inherit issues. in israel the species reaches its southern border and it is very rare.
-
This year some of the Israeli deserts got quite a lot of rains. This resulted in carpets of flwoers especially in fallow field like this one. Most of the flowers belong ot the mustard family. The dark patches in the field are ants nests where green wild oats flourish.
-
Lepidium hirtum is an herbaceous perennial with hairy stems. Here you can see its small white flowers and fruits.
-
Sisymbrium erysimoides is a common weed ni the arid parts of Israel and the Middle East.
-
Arabidopsis thaliana is a famous annual used for genetic research. In Israel it is confined to the far north of the country where it is rare.
-
Erucaria rostrata is a desert annual, in rainy years is can cover huge areas like u see in this pic. These are fallow fields that are plowed every second year. The humps u see in the back of the pic are ant nests, where higher grass grows, due to ant local soil fertilization.
-
Lepidium hirtum is an herbaceous perennial with hairy stems. Here you can see its fruits.
-
Sisymbrium erysimoides is a common weed in the Middle East. Here u can see its tiny flowers.
-
Arabis aucheri is a shy annual common in Mt Hermon, rare in the Galilee. Here you can see the fruit pod emerging from the wilting flowers.
-
Erysimum crassipes is a perennial growing in the arid east Mediterranean. Its leaves are slender, almost pine-like. the flowers are cream coloured, difficult to photograph without flash.
-
A common perennial, occurring near springs and in roadsides. Here u can see it in the southern Jordanian Mts.
-
This is the typical lower leaf of Sisymbrium orientale. A common weed in the Middle East. In Israel it is rather rare.
-
This is a tine annual growing in the dry mountains of SW Asia. The tine flowers are probably self pollinated. The fruit pods are stick-like.
-
Euclidium syriacum is a small annual with tiny self-pollinated flowers.
-
and here is a closeup of this perennial. The tiny flowers cover the plant in peak bloom.
-
Sisymbrium runcinatum is an Irano-Turanian annual. In Israel it is tather rare. It is a creeping plant with rather short falcate fruits.
-
Arabis caucasica (often included within Arabis alpina) is a moutainours perennial herb. It blooms in Israel in April-May, forming nice, white flowering patches in the rocks.
-
At last, after long dry years, strong rains and blooming in the southern Negev Desert. Farsetia is one of the common perennials blooming right now.
-
Lepidium latifolium is a perennial herbaceous plant that grows in damp habitats. Here u can see its fruits. It is a common widespread species, but very rare and endangered locally in Israel.
-
Sisymbrium runcinatum is a creping annual, found in steppe - semiarid parts of the Middle east. In Israel it is rather rare. The flowers are small, the lower ones are solitary in leaf axils.
-
Arabis caucasica clumps decorate the cliffs of the Mt Hermon and northward towards Turkey and the Caucasus. It is closely realted to the European Arabis alpina. At first I was frustrated that it was hidcden in the shade, but it turned out good, since the white flowers really glow in the sun.
-
At last, after long dry years, strong rains and blooming in the southern Negev Desert. Farsetia is one of the common perennials blooming right now. In this picture you can see the flowers and the fruit.
-
Lepidium latifolium is a widespread perennial of damp habitats. In Israel it is locally rare and endangered. Here u can see its fruiting stem.