Givat Humra

Givat Humra is the name of a softly sloping hill located just a short distance from Kibbutz Palmachim, a coastal community south of Tel Aviv near Rishon LeZion. The hill is famous for its carpets of Iris atropurpurea (coastal iris), which bloom from February to early March. One Sunday morning in February, Mister Handmade in Israel and I took a walk there. The sky was blue, and we walked among the rich, velvety purple flowers, enjoying the colour across the hillside.

The coastal iris is called Irus ha-Argaman in Hebrew and Saoosan al-Sahel in Arabic. Argaman is Hebrew for "purple". The Latin botanical name atropurpurea means dark purple. Native to Israel's coastal plain, it is one of the country's most striking and beautiful flowers. Its colours range from red-brown and burgundy to deep purple and almost black, and it thrives on poor quality sandy soils, such as those found in ancient sand dunes or the kurkar (coastal sandstone) hills along the coast. Unfortunately, due to the shrinking of its natural habitat, it is becoming rarer year by year. However, Givat Humra is one of the few places where you can still admire this magnificent flower.

Givat Humra's name was given mistakenly. It is commonly assumed that it is called "Humra" after the red soil of the surrounding area (ḥumra means "red" in Arabic), but in fact, there is not a trace of red soil around it. The real reason likely lies with the nearby archaeological site D'harat al-Humariya, about half a kilometer south of the hill. The site was excavated in the 1960s and 70s, revealing Middle Bronze Age graves (around 2000 BCE). However, in the late 1950s, archaeologist Moshe Dothan surveyed the area and mistakenly identified the hill with this site, so since then it has been called Humra.

For many years the hill was neglected and used as a construction waste dump. In 2005, students from the regional Gan Raveh School cleaned most of the hill and laid out paths. The hill is not officially recognized as a nature reserve and is not formally maintained. Signage is minimal, but the short circular trail is suitable for the whole family and accessible.

The trail circles the hill and ascends at a gentle, very easy slope. Large concentrations of blooming purple irises could be found at the foot of the hill, especially on its northeastern side, while white broom, Rotem Ha Midbar, dominated at the top of the hill. The irises grow upright from the ground, with slender stems and delicate petals forming dense patches of deep purple that shone in the morning light.

The hill is part of the kurkar ridges in the coastal plain, generally running north-south. These kurkar ridges testify to changes in the Mediterranean Sea level in ancient times. The formation and melting of glaciers caused the sea level to move west and east, and in places where the water touched the land, sand turned into kurkar stone due to the influence of salt, wind, sun, and various processes.

In addition to the irises, many other flowers bloom on Givat Humra, including the aforementioned white broom, ragwort, oxalis, anemones, alkanet, clustered viper's bugloss, chrysanthemums, buttercups, poppies, mountain tulips, Tel Aviv garlic, and more. On the hill stands an abandoned house, surrounded by the remnants of orchards where prickly pear (sabra), pomegranates, grapevines, figs, and even a sycamore tree still grow.

Not far from Givat Humra, other populations of coastal iris grow in two locations: Iris Hill in Nes Ziona and the Purple Iris Nature Reserve in Beit Hanan.

* This post has been shared on Mosaic Monday, Monday Morning Blog Club, Busy Monday, Nature Notes, Weekly Wonders, Inspire Me Monday