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Project Noah Nature School
Iris atropururea
This endemic coastal plant grows only in Israel. It is the first oncocyclus iris to bloom (February). It is rare and endangered, threatened by loss of its habitat as well as by invasive species (look at the picture where you can see the invasive Oxalis pes-caparae). The dark purple flowers do not secrete nectar, but attract male solitary bees that stay there in the night.
red sandy loam, Mediterranean shrubland,
protected by law in Israel
Spotted on Feb 8, 2018
Submitted on Feb 10, 2018
7 Comments
Awesome! Congrats.
Congratulations Ori!
Fantastic spotting. Congratulations Ori! Thank you for the information and for sharing :)
Awesomefind Ori,great spotting as usual :-) congrats on the well deserved SOTD and thanks for sharing
Thank you for contributing this most interesting spotting Ori, it is our Spotting of the Day:
"The coastal plain of Israel is the only location where you'll find the endemic and Critically Endangered Purple Iris (Iris atropururea), our Spotting of the Day. This species has seen significant declines in its population size and area of occupancy due to habitat loss and invasive species. The main wild pollinators of this plant are male eucerine bees. It has been suggested that that honey bees from managed colonies have the potential to reduce the amount of pollen available for plant reproduction, a factor which may have implications for the conservation of this species.
For more information: https://buff.ly/2G0rbEn "
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Pretty, purple flowers....
Really beautiful and interesting flower - it even looks rare!