What’s in Bloom...

What’s in Bloom… in July

By: | Review date: 01-01-1970
Alcea setosa Bristly Hollyhock الخطمي الهلبي، خف الجمل
Alcea setosa
Bristly Hollyhock
الخطمي الهلبي، خف الجمل

Though Ramallah receives rainfall equivalent to or greater than that of London, we often think of our region as dry. Our rain comes in fierce downpours for a day or two during only half the year, and then we go through our long summer and autumn seasons. For that reason, our wildflowers are plentiful in the winter and spring and scarce in the summer and autumn. Though we find very few wildflowers at this time of the year, they are particularly wonderful because of their scarcity. I am especially fond of the caper bush, which you can find growing out of cracks in sidewalks and on rooftops. Every time I spot one in an unlikely place, I smile to myself and rejoice at nature’s insistence on thriving even while humanity insists on destroying it. Look for these great blooms this month in Palestine.

Urtica urens Stinging Nettle, Small Nettle القراص
Urtica urens
Stinging Nettle, Small Nettle
القراص
Daucus carota  Wild Carrot لذيقة, يربرزج, جزر بري
Daucus carota
Wild Carrot
لذيقة, يربرزج, جزر بري
Dittrichia viscosa False Yellowhead طيون دبق
Dittrichia viscosa
False Yellowhead
طيون دبق
Capparis spinosa  Capers كبر
Capparis spinosa
Capers
كبر
Verbascum sinuatum Scallop-Leaved Mullein عمية، عورور
Verbascum sinuatum
Scallop-Leaved Mullein
عمية، عورور
Scolymus hispanicus Spanish Golden-Thistle سنارية
Scolymus hispanicus
Spanish Golden-Thistle
سنارية
Cichorium endivia Dwarf Chicory الهندباء البرية
Cichorium endivia
Dwarf Chicory
الهندباء البرية
Ononis spinosa Tall Spiny Rest-Harrow موقف الثور أو الحمار، شبرج، شبرق
Ononis spinosa
Tall Spiny Rest-Harrow
موقف الثور أو الحمار، شبرج، شبرق
Spartium junceum   Spanish Broom مكنسة، وزال، قندول
Spartium junceum
Spanish Broom
مكنسة، وزال، قندول

 

Morgan Cooper, an urban farmer, lacto-fermenter, and designer, is the founder of Little Olea for Babies and Handmade Palestine market. She left academia in 2010 to “get her hands dirty,” building an arboretum with her husband and running Café La Vie in Ramallah. Currently, she’s working on an aquaponics “wall” in the café garden that will provide more organic vegetables for the café kitchen. She lives with her husband Saleh Totah in his native Ramallah. They have one wild child who loves to eat freshly picked carrots with a bit of healthy soil in the cracks.
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