Saturday, March 26, 2016

WILD IRIS - IRIS NAZARETH




Israel has a wide range of beautiful wild flowers. The queens among them are certainly the Irises. This is the Nazareth Iris, and as the name suggests it grows in the area around Nazareth in the north of Israel. Its Latin name is iris bismarckiana. It can be enjoyed in some other locations too, as in the Galilee, the Upper Jordan Valley and on the Mountains Hermon and Gilboa. 


It is truly magnificent - actually all the wild Irises here are, but this one is my personal favorite. Blooming in March and April, the big flower grows on a high stem. The upper leaves, called flags, are off white to light purple, with delicate pinkish stripes. The lower leaves, the falls, are dotted in brown and look like a wild cats fur - gorgeous! 


Plenty of seeds grow in a three part capsule. These royal Irises are very rare, endemic to Israel and South Lebanon. Here in Israel they are fiercely protected.



I love these these marvelous spring treasures and looked at them many times with wondering eyes and a thankful heart.

Photos by Uri Eshkar.

8 comments:

Dawn of LaTouchables said...

That they grow wild is mind-boggling. We plant bulbs to get irises, and none of them look like this beauty, but I love them too, because they come with a warm sun. Love your photos (Uri's) of wildlife, Yael!

Brizanne said...

Oh wie traumhaft!
Mit den herzlichszten Grüssen und auch dir und deinen Lieben schöne Festtage
Brigitte

wandamarie.blogspot.com said...

BEAUTIFUL IRIS' BEAUTIFUL POST my friend ;)

stardust said...

Dear Yael - Nazareth Iris is new to me. How mysteriously and fascinatedly beautiful!. It’s so nice to see so many wild Irises blooming.

Yoko

Bob Bushell said...

Perfection in any way, I love it.

Tammie Lee said...

they truly are exquisite!
thank you for sharing them with us!

Giga said...

Beautiful petals is the iris. :)

D. Enrique Choquet de Isla said...

I love all these pictures in which we can enjoy the truly essence of nature.
Greetings from Spain, my friend.