The Negev wildflower post

A DSC_3602 copyMITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL–Today I worked in the Jurassic of Makhtesh Gadol and the Triassic of Makhtesh Ramon. A highlight was that I was joined by Yael Leshno, an Israeli master’s student on her way to a paleontology career. She was very good at finding crinoid parts in the Matmor Formation. Otherwise it was a dusty, windy, non-photogenic day. Time to post wildflower images!

DSC_3555 copyOf course, I don’t know what most of these flowers are, just that they’re pretty. The Negev had good winter and spring rains, so the wildflowers are abundant. [Update: Lyn Loveless, a biologist at The College of Wooster, tells us, “The first two photos are plants in the Brassicaceae (mustard family), and look a lot like Raphanus, wild radish. The one [below] – well, maybe a mint? Bifid stigma, four anthers.” Thank you very much, Lyn!]

DSC_3600 copyThere must be an interesting pollinator for this plant. James in the comments identified this flower as Echium judaeum. Thanks!

DSC_3595 copyI know I’ve identified this plant before, but the name now escapes me. It tends to be in moister parts of wadis. It might be Broomrape (Cistanche tubulosa), a parasitic plant that taps the roots of other plants.

Erodium cicutariumThis I learned is the Stork’s Bill (Erodium cicutarium). It is native to the Mediterranean and was introduced to North America over 200 years ago (and is now an invasive pest in some places). It has a very impressive way of distributing its seeds, one of which is shown in the center of this image.

DSC_3756 copyThe seeds of the Stork’s Bill are so common this spring that they blow around the desert landscape like snow. Each has a feathery shaft to catch the wind, and then a screw-like device that enables the seed to bury itself in the soil with changing humidity and the action of the wind on the shaft. This Wikipedia page on the plant has images of the seeds. Very r-selected!

DSC_3760 copyWhich brings me to this odd creature. You see here a collection of Stork’s Bill seeds bound together like a sheaf of wheat. In the lower right is the head of a caterpillar-like arthropod seeming to carry it along. When I touched it the head retreated into the seed mass.

DSC_3764 copyWhen I turned it over I observed that it is an agglutinated tube of some kind with sticks on the base and the feathery seeds on the top. It looks like a terrestrial equivalent of a caddisfly tube that is pulled along by the little beast. I’d love to hear if anyone recognizes this animal and its habit! [Update: Laura Sirot, a biologist at Wooster, has identified this as a Bagworm Moth. Todah raba, Laura!}

About Mark Wilson

Mark Wilson is a Professor of Geology at The College of Wooster. He specializes in invertebrate paleontology, carbonate sedimentology, and stratigraphy. He also is an expert on pseudoscience, especially creationism.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

4 Responses to The Negev wildflower post

  1. Laura Bombini says:

    Amazing this kind of flowers I would like to know the name of this kind of yellow and if it occurs in warm climate or arid. thanks

  2. Mark Wilson says:

    I don’t know the name of the shade of yellow, Laura, but I’m sure it can be found just about anywhere flowers grow.

  3. James C. says:

    Hi Mark,

    Your red flower is Echium judaeum. Echium flowers are resupinate (upside down). Note how the stamens and stigma project from the upper lip (bottom) of the flower.

    Take care,
    James

  4. Mark Wilson says:

    Thank you very much, James! I shall update the post. Love learning more this way.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.