Flowering Strategies

Abstract

The unpredictable and very small amounts of rain (from 26 to 169 mm/year in the centre part of the Negev Desert) occur in winter (Evenari et al. 1982; Evenari 1985). Not only the amount of rain, but also the dates and amounts of the one to three rain events that may engender germination of annual plants are unpredictable. However, during most of the last 25 years, the largest rainfall of the season with rains occurred in December or January and the month with the maximum amount of rain was January (Evenari and Gutterman 1976; Gutterman 1993, 1998a, 1999, 2001a) (Fig. 1.7; Tables 1.2, 1.3). The young seedlings may emerge in the season with rain and mild temperatures (Fig. 1.4), when the days are shortening, from November to 21 December, or when they are lengthening, from 21 December to February or March, or even at the beginning of April (Evenari and Gutterman 1966; {Gutterman 1999) (Fig. 2.1).