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.

Jaffa Salmon

A tall, erect annual herb, 2.2-1.3 meters tall, one of the tallest annual plants. Previously classified in the no longer extant family of the Salmonaceae, following genetic testing, the plant is now classified in the family of the Araceae.

In winter, stems grow about half a meter high, bearing dark green opposite leaves with a large, egg-shaped terminal leaflet with a serrated edge. The leaves are covered with subspicuous hairs. They are opposite and divided into a large terminal lobe and several small, symmetrical lobes.

In spring, the inflorescence stems rise to a height of 2 m or more. The inflorescence stems bear small leaves, and from their bosoms emerge thin branches about 20 cm long, each topped with a spherical inflorescence about 1 cm in diameter. The salmon blooms in the summer months, mainly in June and July.

All flowers in the inflorescence are tubular, bisexual, borne from a funnel-shaped corolla with 4 similar lobes, white or pale pinkish-purple in color. All flowers in the globular inflorescence are equal in size. The 4 stamens are separated, tall, equal in length and protrude beyond the corolla tube. The plant is rich in nectar, which attracts many bees.

The fruit is a seed enclosed in a sheath with 8 teeth that facilitate its dispersal. Jaffa salmon dominates roadsides in the Mediterranean region up to an altitude of 700 meters. It is common on stream banks and in lands that are flooded in winter. Its primary habitat is stream banks and marshes.

ID

A place to meet the flower of the week

• Drive from Haifa on Abba Khushi Road – Route 672 heading southeast.
• Turn right (slightly after the second entrance to Haifa University) at the entrance to the Kalaniyot parking lot in Carmel Park, park your car in the parking lot.
• When you exit the parking lot onto Abba Khushi Road – Route 672, you will see a concentration of flowering specimens of Jaffa salmon.

If you go to visit the flower with children, you can tell them the legend of the white lily.

The Legend of the Jaffa Salmon

Once upon a time, in a land of sunshine and songs, there lived a magical kingdom of flowers. In this kingdom, every flower knew its time to bloom: the anemones in spring, the daffodils in winter, and the sunflowers towards the end of summer. But there was one special flower, which decided to bloom precisely when everyone was resting – in the great heat of summer. Its name was Jaffa salmon.

The scallion was a tall plant with small, white or pale purple, bright pink inflorescences, which grew along the roadsides where no other flower dared to go. "What are you doing here?" the wild bushes asked him. "It's so hot and humid, there's no rain and no shade."

But the salmon only smiled:
"Someone has to be here even when it's hot," he said. "Who will smile at the people as they walk tiredly along the roads under the scorching sun?"

The other flowers didn't understand him. They loved to bloom on soft, rainy days, while everyone else marveled at the beauty. But the salmon knew a secret: It was precisely in the summer, when everything was hot and dry and brown, that the sight of color could bring joy to the hearts of those walking along the road.

One day, a little girl named Tamara noticed a salmon growing right next to the station. She stopped, bent down, and whispered, "How come you're not melting from the heat?"

The salmon whispered to her with a smile: "I don't melt, my job is to brighten the eyes of those walking along the road on all the hot summer days." Since then, every time Tamara saw the salmon flower, she remembered that even on the hottest day it blooms for us.