The Carmel presents us with flowers in all seasons of the year.
This column will always feature one of the Carmel flowers, as it appears in the field, and you will be invited to visit it in one of the places where it blooms.
Thorny arsonist
A thorny annual herb with 3-1 erect, reddish-purple inflorescence stems, 70-20 cm tall, their tips branching in a bicornate manner and bearing scapes that bloom one after the other in ascending order from bottom to top. The outer edges of the inflorescence sheath end in bicornate spikes.
The rosette leaves at the base of the plant are simple-elongated, reaching a length of 7 cm. The leaves on the inflorescence stalks are smaller, sessile, and their expanded base slightly embraces the stem.
The inflorescence is about 2 cm in diameter, yellow-orange in color, and has an outer raceme of female linguineous flowers arranged in one or two rows and dense inner races of bisexual tubular flowers. The calyx is covered with sap, hence the name of the genus. The outer bracts are hard and elongated. The inner bracts are attached to the inflorescence.
The seeds are black, the outer ones are winged, while the inner ones have a tiny tassel.
The firefly is common in meadows, fallow fields, and open woodlands in the mountainous Mediterranean region.
ID
| family: | Complex. |
| root: | Skewers. |
| height: | 70-20 cm. |
| Leaves: | The leaves are simple, with elongated petioles arranged in a rosette, up to 7 cm long. The leaves on the inflorescence stalks are smaller, sessile, and their base is expanded, slightly embracing the stem. |
| stalk: | The inflorescence stems are erect and reddish-purple in color, their ends branch in a bicornic pattern and bear flower heads that bloom one after the other from the bottom up. |
| rash: | In late spring, mainly in April - May. |
| Flowers: | Scalps are covered in green outer scales that are capped with barbed spikes. |
| The structure of the flower: | The head is about 2 cm in diameter, yellow-orange in color, and has an outer generation of female ligulate flowers and dense inner generations of bisexual tubular flowers. |
| The fruit: | The seeds are black with a crown-like crest with short teeth. |
| smell: | The flower has no special scent. |
| nectar: | The plant produces nectar that attracts insects. |
| Distribution in Israel: | Throughout Israel, mainly in open fields and along roadsides. |
A place to meet the flower of the week
- 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 100 m, until the place where the road turns south (from here there is no more entrance by car).
Continuing along the footpath, scattered blooms of the firecracker bloom along the perimeter path on both sides until it meets the road leading to Haibar.
If you go to visit the flower with children, you can tell them the legend of the prickly firecracker.
The Legend of the Thorny Arsonist
On a green mountain full of flowers, lived a little hedgehog named Motzi the Thorny One. All the animals in the forest knew Motzi – not because of her thorns (which were, of course, numerous and sharp), but because of her big heart.
Motzi loved to help everyone: she helped Mrs. Owl find her glasses, walked Zuzi the turtle to school so he wouldn't be late, and even taught the little rabbits how to roll leaves for dinner.
But there was one problem – no one wanted to hug an arsonist.
"You're just... too prickly!" everyone said. Even her best friends, who actually really liked her, were afraid of the thorns."
One day, a lost puppy named Pitsy arrived in the forest. He was shivering with cold and looked very sad.
Motzit immediately ran to help him. She brought him a small blanket, found him shelter in the bushes, and brought him an apple from the tree.
But when Pitzi cried at night from longing, Motzi immediately understood what he needed – a hug.
She was afraid to hurt him with her thorns, so she did something special: she looked for soft flowers, wove a kind of little cape out of them, and put it on carefully.
"I'm less prickly now," she whispered, moving closer to Fitzy.
Fitzy smiled a little, hugged her – and the thorns didn't sting at all.
From that day on, Motzi became the embracing caretaker of the forest. All the animals came to her, not only for help – but also for a tender embrace with her flower cape.
And Motsi? She just smiled in her heart, because from that day on, all the animals of the forest understood that Motsi, even a prickly one, could give a hug and warmth like everyone else.