Iris haynei

Appearance

It is a geophyte, with a stout rhizome, and small brown stolons. They are below the surface of the ground, they all form clumps of plants.

It has between 5 and 8 leaves, which are smooth, linear, or lanceolate, greyish-green. They can grow up to between 25–30 cm long, and between 1 and 1.5 cm wide.
They grow in the spring and then fade after the summer.

It has a slender stem or peduncle, that can grow up to between 40–60 cm tall.

The stems carry the flowers high above the foliage.

The stems hold terminal flowers, blooming in spring, between March and April.

The fragrant flowers, are 10–12 cm in diameter, they come in shades of deep purple, violet, purple, brownish purple, or dusky lilac. Normally veined or spotted over a pale, or pale pink-violet background.

Like other irises, it has 2 pairs of petals, 3 large sepals , known as the 'falls' and 3 inner, smaller petals , known as the 'standards'.
The oblong or ovate, and recurved falls are 7–8 cm long and 4–6 cm wide. They are more densely veined and spotted than the standards.

The incurved , standards are 9–10 cm long and 6–7 cm wide.

In the centre of the falls, is a dark purple, black-brown, to blackish signal patch, also, in the middle of the falls, is a row of short hairs called the 'beard', which are variable, from dark purple, white, or dark tipped yellow.

Although, a semi-albino form with a white-yellowish, or golden yellow flower and a dark red signal patch has been recorded.

It has a 2.5 cm long perianth-tube, and after the iris has flowered, it produces an loculicidal seed capsule, inside the seeds have a method of delaying germination, for up to several years, so that they can re-produce plants following periods of droughts.

Distribution

It is native to temperate to Western Asia.

Status

In 1950's the iris suffered from widespread picking, by plant dealers and visitors, also locals from nearby kibbutz, had collected the iris to make wreathes to decorate their rooms. It soon became very rare and endangered.

In 1959, all Oncocyclus irises in Israel were listed as 'Very Rare'. Then in 1963, the Nature Reserves acts was established in Israel, the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel with a Parliamentary lobby also initiated a special law for the protection of 95% of wildlife, including many threatened plants. It included the designation of 30 National Parks and 145 sites as nature reserves, which were administrated by Nature Conservation Authority. The 1964 'Species Protection Law' and the 'Endangered Species Law' includes various irises. Then in 1964, the Nature Reserves Authority was established to enforce the act and manage the various reserves. The creation of nature reserves and wild plant protection law has saved the plant from extinction, Some of the reserves were set up specifically due to the presence of 'Oncocyclus' irises, including on Mount Gilboa. The iris can also be found in the nature reserves of Nahal Misgav, Nahal Qedesh, Nahal Dishon and Nahal Bet Ha'emek in Upper Galilee, Nazareth, Har Yona and Giv'at Ha-more in Lower Galilee and in Hula Valley within Ein Avazim. It is also found in Jalaboun , which has a typical Mediterranean climate and consists of open 'maquis' , with olive groves and fields of wheat and pasture. Also a public education campaign. including school teaching programmes, pamphlets and posters, stopped the public picking the wild plants. It was also thought that within the nature reserves, there needed to be controlled cattle grazing to reduce plant competition from aggressive grasses, herbs and thistles.

Also the creation of the wall between Israel and Palestine , has also affected its habitat. Several hundred flower groups were trans-located to the Mount Barkan area of Mount Gilboa. Although, most of these plants died between 2–10 years, due to dense pine tree plantations.

In 2015, it was listed as rare, on the West Bank of Palestine, and parts of Israel .

On 24 February 2016, it was assessed by the IUCN as Vulnerable. It has a restricted habitat of less than 100 km2 .

It is now part of Jerusalem Botanical Gardens preservation project, which includes seed collection.

Habitat

It is native to temperate to Western Asia.It grows in Mediterranean woodlands, shrublands, and on rocky hillsides. It is found on soils containing limestone, and dolomite, or at the edges of fields in terra rossa.
They can be found at an altitude of 150–550 m above sea level.On Mount Gilboa, the iris can be found growing alongside ''Ferula communis'' and ''Euphorbia hierosolymitana'', near ''Pistacia lentiscus'' and ''Ceratonia siliqua'', and at the edges of planted Aleppo pine forests.

Defense

Like many other irises, most parts of the plant are poisonous , and if mistakenly ingested can cause stomach pains and vomiting. Also, handling the plant may cause a skin irritation or an allergic reaction.

Cultural

It was also used for a postage stamp on 26 December 1978, part of a series of wild flowers.

One source states that Iris bismarckiana was chosen, as the logo of The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel in 1970, but it was in fact ''I. haynei''.

On Mount Gilboa, there is a trail between March and April to see the iris in flower,
thousands can walk the trail.

In 2012, it also inspired a book, ''The Gilboa Iris'' by Zahava D Englard, who is also a journalist, the book is a romance set on Mount Gilboa.

On 5 April 2016, the Ministry of Environmental Affairs had adopted 'Sawsan Gilboa' as the national plant of the State of Palestine, to go with the Olive tree , Palestine sunbird and the 5th of March to be the national day for the Palestinian environment.