Rare Israeli mountain plant blooms for first time on Mount Hermon

A botanical survey by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority this week in Mount Hermon Nature Reserve documented the first-ever flowering of the extremely rare small waxweed, known in Hebrew as dungit haketana. Botanist Dr. Uri Fragman-Sapir found the plant on the Dovdvan Ridge in the upper Israeli Hermon at 2,150 meters above sea level.

Fragman-Sapir said the plant had first been seen last year by Zalman Baumwohl and identified by him later, when it was only available as a dried specimen. This year he organized a special survey with the authority to document the plant in bloom and monitor other species in the area. He said entry to the high Hermon zone was delayed until after the birds’ nesting season and only on Tuesday could the team finally reach the site, where they found it in full bloom with distinctive closed yellow flowers opened by small bees.

He said this is the first documentation of the plant’s flowers in Israel and added, "The plant is new not only to Israel, but to the entire Mount Hermon range." The reserve has been closed for long periods, and still closes periodically, because it sits near the border and the fighting front. The authority says the reserve suffered extensive damage during the fighting over the past three years, from artillery fire and military activity.

In recent months, after hazards left in the reserve were removed, ecology teams have been studying how the war affected the unique habitat. Dr. Amit Dolev, the authority’s northern district ecologist, said the findings show nature can recover well once the damage is cleared and the soil is treated. He said the work focuses mainly on removing hazards rather than reseeding, while coordinating with security agencies to prevent future harm and keep military activity in less sensitive areas.