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Slender Bolanthus
Bolanthus filicaulis

4.2 Endangered

Update Time: Jan. 1, 2011, 7:39 a.m.

Bolanthus filicaulis grows on only two sites in one region – the Samaria ecotone, on the eastern side of the southern Samarian anticline. One site is located 1.5 km east of Ǧ'ib'it Ruins (northwest of Uǧa), and another site is located east of the settlement of Ofra, on Tel a –Tswan, in the Binyamin Desert near the village of Muh'mas .

Limestone crevices on the eastern slope in the southern Samarian ecotone, at an altitude of 500-670 meters. Most of the collected specimens in the world are from the ecotone in the Damascus area and in the Moab and Ammon regions in Jordan.

Based on the minute number of specimens, found at only two sites, during 100 years it would seem that the presence of Bolanthus filicaulis in Israel is likely to be random. If this is true, the species should not be prioritized for conservation. However, upon examination of the range of B. filicaulis in the Levant and the biogeography of the genus Bolanthus, the pair of species, B. filicaulis the B. hirsutus are both endemic to the Levant and probably their speciation center is in the Levant as well. There is no information on the prevalence of the species in Syria, but in Jordan (5-7 dried samples only) it is very rare. This is a long-lived perennial species that grows on rocks. These were the considerations that led us to include it in the list of red plants.

: A thorough survey of plants in the Benyamin and Samarian ecotones, from the mountains to the foot of the Jordan Valley should be conducted to attempt to find individual plants and populations of Bolanthus filicaulis. The plant is small and modest, and is not attractive or prominent even when in bloom. If Bolanthus plants will not be found in Israel, their seeds should be brought over from Ammon and Moab and used to populate the Wadi Yitav and the Kokhav HaShahar reserves.

Bolanthus filicaulis is found only in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. It is very rare in Jordan, growing on rocks in the Ammon, Moab and Edom area.

Bolanthus filicaulis is a minute dwarf shrub, which was only discovered in Israel in 1983 in the southern Samarian ecotone by Orit and Tzvi Shamir. To this date, only two sites were found with very few plants. The species is endemic to Israel, Jordan and Syria. There is very little information on the general distribution of B. filicaulis. The two findings are probably not episodic, and on the contrary, the species is characteristic of the ecotone ecosystem and to the eastern section of the central mountain region in Samaria. The political situation makes conducting a plant survey in the area difficult. We believe that other populations will be discovered in the future enabling us to learn more about the plant.

Barakouda, 1962. A revision of Gypsophila, Bolanthus, Ankyropetalum and Phryna. Wentia, 9: 1-203.

name of participantsBased on: "The Red Book of Israeli Plants - Threatened Plants in Israel" by Prof. Avi Shmida, Dr. Gadi Pollack and Dr. Ori Fragman-Sapir

Current Occupancy Map

Current occupancy map for observations per pixel
1000 squre meter pixel 5000 squre meter pixel 10000 squre meter pixel
number of observations 0 0 0
in total pixels 0 0 0

FamilyCaryophyllaceae
ClassificationOn the endangered species list
EcosystemSemi-Steppe belt
ChorotypeWestern Irano – Turanian
Conservation SiteTel A- Tswan east of Ofra or Wadi Yitav reserve and Kokhav HaShahar

Rarity
1
5
6
Vulnerability
0
0
4
Attractiveness
0
0
4
Endemism
0
2
4
Red number
1
4.2
10
Peripherality E
IUCN category DD EW EX LC CR EN VU NT
Threat Definition according to the red book Endangered
1 (1) districts
Disjunctiveness: Low
0.0% of protected sites

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Paronychia palaestina
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Bufonia ramonensis