The red showy flowers or the floral glories of Israel
Nitzanim, Flower buds, ניצנים: Anemones, tulips, Asiatic ranunculi, and poppies.
In the Jewish calendar Nisan is the seventh month of the civil and first of the religious year, usually coinciding with parts of March and April.
The month Nisan has three names. The first is Chodesh haRishon , the first month, so called to mark the time we became a people (The Jewish New Year, Rosh haShanah, in Tishrei , marks the creation of the world).
The month is also called Chodesh heAviv, the month of Spring.
And Nisan may be related to nitzan, bud. As King Solomon wrote in
the Song of Songs 2:12:
שיר השירים
הַנִּצָּנִים נִרְאוּ בָאָרֶץ עֵת הַזָּמִיר הִגִּיעַ
וְקוֹל הַתּוֹר נִשְׁמַע בְּאַרְצֵנוּ
ha'nitzanim nir'u ba'aretz
Eit hazamir higi'a.
The buds/flowers appear on the earth,
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.
According to M.Zohary in Arabic Nissan is a whole group of plants with handsome red flowers.
These species do not bloom coincidentially but sequentially, beginning with the Anemones, and followed by the tulips, Asiatic ranunculi, and poppies, which spans the whole of spring - the red showy flowers or the floral glories of Israel.
These flowers have a similar appearance in shape and colour and from a distance they may easily be confused.
Anemone (Anemone coronaria) is traditionally identified as the `lily of the field'.
It is a widespread herbaceous perennial plant growing to 20-40 cm tall (rarely to 60 cm), with a basal rosette of a few leaves, the leaves with three leaflets, each leaflet deeply lobed.
The flowers are borne singly on a tall stem with a whorl of small leaves just below the flower; the flower is 3-8 cm diameter, with 5-8 red, white or blue petal-like sepals.
Recent research in Israel has shown that there is a genetic basis for this variation which explains for the dominance of a certain colour in a particular region. Around Jerusalem, for instance, the red shape is more frequent than the blue, while on the basalt slopes north the Sea of Galilee the hillside are speckled with the blue and white flowers.
The petals of the Anemone are usually nectariferous near the base, and in Ranunculus there is a flap of tissue in this position, a presence of reflexed sepals. The Asiatic Ranunculus, or buttercup (Ranunculus asiaticus), is also red-flowered.
Tulipa agenensis, Tulipa Montana (mountain tulip) and Tulipa Sharonensis.
A tulip is a flower with 5 petals, all intertwining, and without which, it would not make up a complete flower.
Its narrow, grey-green leaves are usually crinkled along the edges.
Corn poppies (Papaver rhoeas, Papaver subpiriforme etc.) are annuals inhabiting disturbed ground and their seeds are in capsules, unlike the anemone and ranunculus, which are perennials and have their seeds in separate nutlets.
Pheasant's eye (Adonis cupaniana, A. aleppica) are also annuals with scarlet flowers, but with nutlets like the anemone.
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Red Showy Flowers
Anemone coronaria
Tulipa agenensis
Papaver
Adonis