bobasil's Journal

Lifta, uprights
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?nelat=31.8047610918802&nelng=35.21239642377142&place_id=any&swlat=31.78579393503203&swlng=35.18038157622858&taxon_id=67714&user_id=bobasil
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/57541081
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/65688376
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/53166300
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/51669576
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/50798668
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/29780327
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/29780156
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/29780049
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/29238842

Ein Kerem
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?nelat=31.77302294982145&nelng=35.16858604711005&place_id=any&swlat=31.76123940051454&swlng=35.15538665522064&taxon_id=67714&user_id=bobasil
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/27326605

Valley of Gehinnom
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?nelat=31.770031295791156&nelng=35.236455609775646&place_id=any&swlat=31.765014436382955&swlng=35.22357206537089&taxon_id=67714&user_id=bobasil&verifiable=any

Last year it was erigonum, goose foot, dittrichia,
This year the new bosses are cyclamen-mustard, london rocket, fumitory.

gaertnerneuwirth commented on https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/22278514
Capparis zoharyi is an erect shrub with apical rounded or emarginate, glabrous, a little bit fleshy leaves and not more than 80 Stamen.
Capparis spinosa s. str. is a procumbent shrub with mostly very thin, weak, long and mostly caducous spines and seems not to occur on Crete.
Capparis sicula is a procumbent shrub with +/- hairy, leaves with an acute tip and robust, retrorse spines.
A systematic Revision of Capparis section Capparis (Capparaceae): https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Diego-Rivera-21/publication/232694239_A_systematic_revision_of_Capparis_section_Capparis_Capparaceae/links/55a9f8db08aea3d086804a5c/A-systematic-revision-of-Capparis-section-Capparis-Capparaceae.pdf

The plant on the photo is obviously procumbent, has robust spines, hairy, acute leaves and nearly 100 Stamen -> Capparis sicula

There are five (5) elements that render themselves as ready for research and discovery: spores, pollen, clay particles, diatoms, and by-products of smoking.

It would be interesting to research the genetic programming of Solanaceae characteristics: the set of yellow and purple for flowering, with the smooth transitions between the colors providing the variations in Brugmansia, etc.;
the general ovoid shape of the flowers, even the compound leaves of Tomato, the floral elements of which are generally ovoid, and
the standard set of toxic, psychoactive alkaloids, which serve to punish insects and mammals, and some of which may be subconsciously addictive in human consumption, for example, hot peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, turkey berry.
Just a food for thought and questions to researching botanists and evolutionary biologists.

So far I have been observing capparis zoharyi onthe sunny and west-facing slopes or sides of streets, for example: the west-facing slopes of Lifta, as well as the same orientation of Uzziel Street and Bayit Vegan Street.

last year this area of Jerusalem saw roadsides and empty lots dominated by the companion pairs of ricinus-ficus carica, chenopodium-amaranthus. This year the new bosses are cyclamen-mustard, london rocket-sonchus.

This is not a blog post. It is a summary of a theory that I have researched and found to be a phenomenon.
Nicotiana glauca is extremely similar to tobacco and is very likely growing alongside Nicotiana tobacum in the wild, as has been related to me.
Very likely over 100 years ago smoking tobacco has grown on crude plantations in south America.
Unfinished cigarettes, aka cigarette butts, containing small seeds of both plants, had been thrown out, spreading the plants throughout the world.
The harshness of the pre-20-th century smoking tobacco was also compounded by the presence of the N. Glauca that grew interspersed with N. tabacum.
Interesting to note that the most indigenous growth of N. Glauca is in Bolivia, and is bountiful as confirmed by many iNaturalist observations.
According to some sources in USA that related this to me directly, the invasive spread of N. Glauca in California and Arizona is supported by the continuous influx of tobacco imported as cigarettes or cut leaves from Mexico and Bolivia.
The similar spread of the plant in the Mediterranean basin started in 17-th century with the introduction of smoking tobacco by the Spanish into their country. The appearance in Israel may have been low-frequency up until 21-th century, and has increased greatly. According to the model of cigarette litter mentioned above, the N. Glauca is spread by smokers of the low-cost, generic brand cigarettes that contain opportunistic blends from low-cost sources. These are open to N. Tabacum harvests containing companion N. Glauca. Nearly 100% of construction workforce in Israel is Arabs, who enjoy the freedom of purchasing from the unregulated cigarette vendors. Indeed, nearly 99% of my own N. Glauca observations are found in the area of past construction.
Next on the wish list is enough time to do a microscopic analysis of tobacco seeds found in disposed cigarette butts, and direct observation of the seeds from both species.