The flowers that bloom only after we all go to sleep • Candles in the darkness of nature

Who among us has not gone out on a sunny Shabbat to take a walk among the flowers of the land, which are beginning to bloom after the many rains that hit the land. Usually, when we go to see blossoms, we do it during the day, but did you know that there are flowers, shy ones, that bloom only after we all go to sleep?

In nature, there are animals, plants and flowers that wake up only after we are no longer walking on the paths and streets. They wake up at night and live in the darkness of the night, and some of them really light up the darkness with their white-yellow light, these are the night flowers. Like small candles, scattered in many different places and diverse growing areas, the night flowers bloom for them in most of the dram. In honor of the Festival of Lights, we have collected for you the flowers that bloom after everyone goes to sleep, illuminating the night light with small bulbs and filling the air with the smell of blossoms.

The coastal night candle:

As its name suggests, the coastal nightshade lights up the sandy beaches of Israel with yellow flowers. It is a plant that originates in America and blends in among the natural species on the country's beaches. The flowers of the evening primrose open towards the evening, at sunset and bloom until the next morning. These flowers are pollinated by butterflies - these are butterflies, of which there are 12 different species in Israel and most of them are active at night.

The fliers are attracted to the scent of the flowers and pollinate them. The evening primrose is even pollinated by the bees that water the plant before sunrise and are enough to draw nectar from it before it closes with the arrival of the sun. The evening primrose begins its flowering at the end of March and lasts until the beginning of October.

Oat long cross:

The long oat cross is easy to miss at first glance, the small hidden flowers came today, on a long and thin stem that can look like one of the grass. But at night, dozens of small and especially fragrant flowers bloom from the stem, which attract insects to pollinate them. The cruciferous flower only blooms for a short time a year - from the end of March to the beginning of June, but it grows in many places in the north of the country and in the center, so it is also at its peak, easy to find.

Black lily:

Perhaps the most famous of the night flowers blooming in Israel is the white lily - which appears in many Christian works of art. In the world of Christian art, the color white is associated with purity and chastity and integrity, and therefore the lily, which is white and bright in color, is often associated with the Holy Mary. Growing in the cliffs of the Upper Galilee and Carmel, the black lily blooms in late spring and its large flowers rise high in the Mediterranean forest. The white flowers stand out from a distance and it emits a pleasant smell. The whiteness of the flower and its smell attract the well-known moths and other night pollinators.

The beach lily:

"I am the lily of the Sharon, the lily of the valleys" is written with infinite beauty in the Song of Songs (2:1). Today it's hard for us to know if the beautiful words really compared the shepherdess "as a rose among the thorns" to the beach lily we know, but it's nice to imagine that they did.

The beach lily is a white flower known to us from the coast of Israel that blooms in late summer and early fall. The lily, like other beach flowers, blooms at night for several reasons, it directs its bloom to the hours of activity of the custards, but not only that.

The lily flower is delicate and may be damaged by grains of sand and salt crystals carried by the wind. Therefore, the timing of the bloom is at night, hours when the wind weakens in the coastal area. The lily hides itself from the coastal winds during the day, and blooms like a violin on a summer night and lights up the shores of our little country. While most of the night flowers bloom in the spring and summer months, and we will have to wait for the winter months to see them, we can also go out today to see the many winter blooms that have started all over the country.

We at the Nature and Parks Authority invite you to come to the national parks and open spaces, see the blossoms that started after the rains, and get fresh air in the open air.

Dotan Rotem, open spaces ecologist at the Nature and Parks Authority:

In our country, many harbingers of autumn are now blooming, including autumns and crocuses, and in addition, winter flowers that know how to cope with rain showers are starting to bloom, among them the common cyclamen that blooms in pink and the tendril clematis that blooms in the grove in white. We are in very difficult times today, the whole country is under tension. There is nothing like going out into the open air, walking around in nature to regain some sanity. I invite everyone to take advantage of the holiday and visit our beautiful country.

Blossom tour with added value:

If we go out with the family on Hanukkah to see the blossoms, you can always add to the trip an added value that matches the holiday. On the Hanukkah holiday, we commemorate the Hasmonean rebellion against the Salukite kingdom, who rebelled, among other things, because of the desecration and looting of the Temple. Today, as can be seen in many archaeological descriptions and findings, we know that a seven-branched menorah was also looted from the Temple.

In honor of the holiday, you can come to Beit Shaarim National Park and learn about the man who later became the symbol of our country - the menorah. There, after you take a tour among the different flowers, you can also go and learn about the incarnation of the menorah. Winter is the best time to visit Beit Shaarim National Park, to discover the menorah cave complex and especially to be moved by the audio-visual vision that unfolds the story of the menorah from the days of the Temple to its becoming the symbol of the state.

These caves were discovered in the 30's of the last century and magnificent reliefs of the seven reed lamp were found in them, telling the story of many Jews who came to be buried in Beit Shaarim.