This is an incomplete list of 2,700 species of vascular plants which are native to the region of Palestine as defined by Flora Palaestina. Flora Palaestina is a work in four volumes published by Brill Academic Publishers between 1966 and 1986, edited by Michael Zohary and Naomi Feinbrun-Dothan. [1] The region covered includes the whole area of the State of Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, the Israeli-occupied part of Mount Hermon, and the East Bank (which is in Jordan).
The table below lists alphabetically all species with initial letters E–O. See the following for other species and some background information:
Syria Palaestina, or Roman Palestine, was a Roman province in the Palestine region between the early 2nd and late 4th centuries AD. The provincial capital was Caesarea Maritima.
A Flora is a book or other work which describes the plant species occurring in an area or time period, often with the aim of allowing identification. The term is usually capitalized to distinguish it from the use of "flora" to mean the plants rather than their descriptions. Some classic and modern Floras are listed below.
Over recorded history, there have been many names of the Levant, a large area in the Near East, or its constituent parts. These names have applied to a part or the whole of the Levant. On occasion, two or more of these names have been used at the same time by different cultures or sects. As a natural result, some of the names of the Levant are highly politically charged. Perhaps the least politicized name is Levant itself, which simply means "where the sun rises" or "where the land rises out of the sea", a meaning attributed to the region's easterly location on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea.
Palestine is a geographical region in West Asia. It is usually considered to include modern-day Israel and the State of Palestine, though some definitions also include parts of northwestern Jordan. Other historical names for the region include Canaan, the Promised Land, the Land of Israel, or the Holy Land.
Biodiversity in Israel and Palestine is about the fauna and flora in the geographical region of Israel and of the Palestinian National Authority. This geographical area within the historical region of Palestine extends from the Jordan River and Wadi Araba in the east, to the Mediterranean Sea and the Sinai desert in the west, to Lebanon in the north, and to the gulf of Aqaba, or Eilat in the south.
Michael Zohary was a pioneering Israeli botanist.
Judea or Judaea is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the present day; it originates from Yehudah, a Hebrew name. Yehudah was a son of Jacob, who was later given the name "Israel" and whose sons collectively headed the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Yehudah's progeny among the Israelites formed the Tribe of Judah, with whom the Kingdom of Judah is associated. Related nomenclature continued to be used under the rule of the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans. Under the Hasmoneans, the Herodians, and the Romans, the term was applied to an area larger than the historical region of Judea. In 132 CE, the Roman province of Judaea was merged with Galilee to form the enlarged province of Syria Palaestina.
Ammochloa is a genus of Mediterranean plants in the grass family, Poaceae.
Echinaria is a genus of Eurasian and North African plants in the grass family. The only known species is Echinaria capitata, native to the Mediterranean Region as well as the Southwest and Central Asia.
Quercus ithaburensis, the Mount Tabor oak, is a tree in the beech family Fagaceae. It is found from southeastern Italy to the Levant. It is the national tree of Jordan. Two subspecies are accepted, Quercus ithaburensis subsp. ithaburensis and Quercus ithaburensis subsp. macrolepis. Together with Quercus brantii, it forms a clade of distinct, closely related species within the oak section Cerris.
Allium desertorum is a species of onion found in Israel, Jordan, Palestine, and Egypt. It is a small bulb-forming perennial; flowers are white with purple midveins along the tepals.
Iris palaestina is a species in the genus Iris in the subgenus Scorpiris. It is a bulbous perennial from Asia, including the Palestine region, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. It has long, narrow, strap-like leaves, and a short stem. The early blooming, fragrant flowers are greenish-grey/white or yellow-white.
The wildlife of Syria is the flora and fauna of Syria, a country at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. Besides its coastline, the country has a coastal plain, mountain ranges in the west, a semi-arid steppe area in the centre occupying most of the country, and a desert area in the east. Each of these zones has its own characteristic animals and plants.
Iris atrofusca is a species in the genus Iris, where it is placed in the subgenus Iris and the section Oncocyclus. It is a rhizomatous perennial from the deserts of Israel/Palestine and Jordan. The species has long falcate (sickle-shaped) or ensiform (sword-shaped) leaves, a long thick stem and large fragrant flowers that come in shades of purple brown, reddish-black, black-brown, dark brown, dark lilac or dark purple. The flowers also have a black or brownish-black signal patch and a thick beard that is brown-black, light brown or yellow tipped with brown. It is rarely cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.
Iris mariae is a species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Iris and in the section Oncocyclus. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from the deserts of Israel, Egypt and Palestine. It is fairly tall, with long and slender glaucous leaves, and in late spring, lilac-purple to pinkish or violet flowers with deeper veining and blackish-violet signal and dark purple beard.
Iris petrana, commonly known as the Petra iris, is a species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus of Iris and in the Oncocyclus section. It has spring blooming flowers that come in shades from burgundy, dark brown to dark violet and purple. They have yellow or dark 'beards' and flower over sword-like grey-green leaves. It is normally found in the desert sands between the countries of Jordan and Israel.