Israel's flowering delights

OLGA LIVSHIN

Getting into the summer spirit, Beth Israel Synagogue offered a rare treat for flower lovers – a lecture and slide display depicting the wildflowers of Israel and Jordan, presented by Jackie Chambers, a horticulturist at the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden.

Chambers has firsthand knowledge of the topic: she worked for a year at the Jerusalem Botanical Garden, participating in the Native Plants and Wildflowers project. During that year, she and two colleagues – the garden's head scientist, Dr. Ori Fragman-Sapir, and Dr. Michael Avishi, now retired – embarked on five field trips around Israel, searching for wildflowers, taking photographs, noting the locations and the spread of the flowers, collecting seeds and trying to grow them in the garden.

According to the Jerusalem Botanical Garden's website, there are more than 1,500 flowering plants in Israel. As the country is a crossroad of climates and cultures, its flora reflects this status. Some of the flowers about which Chambers spoke are native to the area, while others were brought in by birds or travellers from Europe, Asia and Africa. In the ensuing centuries, the newcomers, like many new olim (immigrants), adapted to the harsh, hot weather conditions of the country, dealing ingeniously with the lack of water. Many of them grow only in the wild, protected by the government and beloved by Israelis.

In her quest for wildflowers, Chambers journeyed to all parts of Israel. Flowers she collected grew in the forest and in mountain meadows, in the desert and inside cities. Once, the team even collected seeds from an army firing range, hoping that no green recruit would fire upon them.

One of the most charming slides, displaying wild red mountain tulips growing among white rocks, was taken just outside Jerusalem, in the hills. Another slide showcased podonosma orientalis, a plant that grows naturally in the cracks in walls – both cliff walls and the walls of buildings.

"There is a song for every flower in Israel," Chambers said during her presentation. "People cherish them." One of her slides revealed a field of red anemone coronaria – a breathtakingly beautiful carpet of red flowers in the hills outside Ashkelon. "We were taking photos," she recalled, "when suddenly there was fire in the sky. At first, I thought it was fireworks." Unfortunately, it was rocket fire.

When Chambers showed this slide, a lady in the audience began singing the well-known Hebrew song about anemones: "Kalaniot." Written in 1945, the song was made famous throughout Israel by Shoshana Damari. "Everyone in Israel sings this song," Chambers said with a smile.

Most of Chambers' slides were dedicated to different kinds of irises growing wild in Israel. When irises bloom in spring, many people drive into the mountains to see them, she said. For some, seeing the irises has become an annual tradition. "The entire family treats those flowers with utmost reverence," Chambers said. "When we came to the field, everyone wanted to help, to show the biggest patches of blooming irises and to tell stories."

One of the irises Chambers photographed is the famous black iris, native to the Middle East. It has an interesting pollination story. "The flowers do not produce any nectar to reward insects for coming," she said. "Instead, it is the heat generated by the dark color of the petals that is the reward. The early morning sun heats up the black petals; this means that the temperature inside the flower rises quicker than the outside environment. The bees inside the irises are warmer and thus are more active earlier in the day and have an advantage over the bees sleeping in colder places."

Another of Chambers' tales concerned a small desert plant, carrichtera annua, and its canny water-collecting technique. "The small spoon shape, the exact size of a raindrop, is part of the outside of the seed pod," Chambers explained. "When the raindrop hits the spoon, it causes the pod to fall off the plant. The seed pod shatters as it hits the ground and the raindrop provides enough water for the seeds inside to germinate."

Burning with her love for wildflowers, Chambers told heart-warming stories about roots, leaves and pollination as if she were revealing the most intriguing mysteries – and her listeners responded accordingly. Grateful and excited, infused by Chambers' enthusiasm, they didn't want to leave, even when the lecture ended. They surrounded the lecturer, asking questions and inviting more stories.

"We are going on a synagogue trip to Israel soon," said Beth Israel's program director, Gaynor Levin. "Now, thanks to Jackie Chambers, we know what to look for."

Olga Livshin is a Vancouver freelance writer.

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