Carmel presents us with flowers in all seasons. In this column we will always present one of the Carmel flowers, at the same time as it appears in the field, and you will be invited to visit it in one of the places where it blooms.
Common buzzard
Common hummingbird is a bulbous geophyte (*), 20-15 cm tall. The leaves are glabrous. The hummingbird blooms in winter and early spring from February to April, the flowers are arranged along the stem in an elongated leafless cluster on purple spikes. The color of the flowers is dirty white with 6 green longitudinal lines, less evident in the corolla and more in the rim, especially while in bud. The flower is rich in nectar, which is hidden deep inside the corolla, and therefore the flowers are pollinated mainly by long-proboscis bees such as the honeybee (Anthophora). Any contact with the flower buds at the top of the inflorescence makes a buzzing sound - hence the name of the genus.
In the past, the plant's popular name was "rainbells."
(*) An underground storage organ that accumulates materials and water that enable its renewal.
ID
| family: | Roses |
| root: | Onion-bearing geophyte |
| height: | 20-15 cm |
| Leaves: | Stems, concentrated at the base of the plant |
| stalk: | Purple, upright, about 15 cm short |
| rash: | In winter and spring, mainly from late January to early April. |
| flower: | The flowers are arranged along the stem in an elongated, leafless cluster on purple spikes 2.5-2 cm long. |
| The structure of the flower: | The petal tube is fused into a bell shape with 6 lobes at the tip. |
| fruit: | The unopened collection, the distribution unit, is a complete fruit. |
| smell: | Odorless |
| nectar: | The nectar is rich, hidden deep within the petal tube. |
| uses: | No information on specific use |
| Distribution in Israel: | Especially in the mountainous areas of the Mediterranean region from Mount Hermon to Mount Hebron. |
A place to meet the flower of the week
The beginning of the firefighting road above the wildlife.
- Drive on Abba Khushi road towards the southeast
- Immediately after the pedestrian bridge to the university, turn right (south) to Tallim parking lot
- Continue about 200 m to the parking lot (located on the left of the road)
- After the parking lot, a paved road begins, go down it (on foot or by car) for about 70 m, until the place where the road turns south (from here there is no more entrance by car).
- Continue for about 100 meters, looking for the common hummingbird. A concentration of its specimens bloom along the right side of the trail, continuing to the beautiful observation point named after Prof. Mike Yaffe.
If you go to visit the flower with children, you can tell them the legend of the common hummingbird.
The Legend of the Common Buzzard
One morning, on a green hill, a small flower called the common hummingbird awoke. She displayed her white petal bells carried on top of purple thorns and raised her eyes to the warm sun. Around her, her fellow flowers awoke, she was a little different – a delicate and special voice emanated from her, a soft hum that could be heard with the morning breeze.
A little bee named Dabra, who heard the buzzing coming from the flower, flew to the hummingbird and asked curiously:
"Why are you humming like that, beautiful flower?"
The buzzing girl smiled and said:
"This is a song I sing to the wind, so that it will move my petal bells to call bees and butterflies to come visit me."
Dabra was so delighted by the pleasant singing that she told all her bee friends about the singing flower. Soon, the bees came from all over, together they danced around the hummingbird, collecting the sweet nectar that she offered them in abundance.
Since then, every winter, when the wind blows and shakes the bells of the hummingbird, you can hear the gentle hum of its bells, and the bees that come to enjoy the nectar it offers, which in turn pollinate its flowers.
An incredibly cute story
It's wonderful that there is a site like this..have a good week
It's wonderful that there is a site like this! It would be a good idea to improve the photography skills so that you can enlarge the image and maybe even make a film about the differences between the hummingbird and the hawkmoth, which is also called "rain bells", which could be confusing.