Curved Enarthrocarpus, Arched Necklace

Enarthrocarpus arcuatus

Enarthrocarpus arcuatus grows in the Acre
Valley and on the Carmel Coast at 23 sites. In the Acre Valley, it is located
along the coast from Rosh HaNikra. Farther south it is found in Akhziv,
Nahariya, Shave Tsion and Hatsrot Yesef. In the past (1920-1950) it also grew
in Acre and in the Kurdani area, but it is now extinct at these sites. On the
Carmel Coast, E. arcuatus is found at ten
sites from Haifa south to the Dor, Darkemon and Ma'agan Mikhael reserves. South
from there it was not found in the Kebara-Binyamina area from where it had been
collected twice in 1926. There is fragmentation between the Acre Valley site
concentration and the sites on the Carmel Coast.

Sand and calcareous sandstone on the seacoast.

The genus Enarthrocarpus
has five species in the
Mediterranean and Saharo-Arabian regions. Three species grow in Israel; the
most common among them is E. strangulatus that grows mainly in the Negev. The
genus Enarthrocarpus is close to the genus Raphanus
that also has a characteristic dehiscent fruit. R. raphanistrum has very
similar flowers, pale yellow and veined, to the Enarthrocarpus
species.

·        
The decreasing
trend in Enarthrocarpus arcuatus sites has
become stronger since the mid-20th century. The populations at the Acre valley sites
south of Hatsrot Yesef have become extinct and fragmentation with the
populations of the Carmel Coast from Haifa southwards – has increased.

·        
The size of all
populations at each of the sites is estimated at hundreds, thousands or even
tens of thousands of plants.

·        
E. arcuatus
grows in coastal areas subject to strong development pressures that threaten
the entire habitat.

·        
Most E. arcuatus
sites are not located in declared nature reserves. Some of the sites are
protected, e.g. in the Rosh HaNikra Beach Reserve. On the Carmel Coast there
are sites in the Dor-HaBonim Reserve and in the Darkemon ruins.

·        
E. arcuatus
is not listed in the red books of other Mediterranean countries.

The ongoing destruction of beaches in the Acre Valley
and the Carmel Coast regions should be prevented. The proposed nature reserves
of Bustan HaGalil, Shikmona Beach reserve and Yam Galim reserve should be
formally declared and thereby ensure the protection of other Enarthrocarpus
arcuatus populations.

Enarthrocarpus
arcuatus
is found on the
coasts of the eastern Mediterranean countries – Greece,
Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus and Israel.

Enarthrocarpus arcuatus is an annual plant of sand and calcareous sandstone near the
seacoast that is limited in Israel to a small number of sites in the Acre
valley and the Carmel Coast. There is a decreasing trend in the numbers of
sites. The main threat facing the species is the development of coastal areas.
The number of declared coastal reserves in the Acre valley and in the Carmel Coast
should be increased.