Mount Gilboa figures prominently in the death of Saul and Jonathan. At this time in the appropriate season there are many beautiful flowers scattered here and there among the rocks.
The most famous flower of Mount Gilboa is the Gilboa Iris (Iris haynei). When a guide friend saw me at the hotel and asked where I had been he asked if I had seen the black Iris. My answer is still no, but I would like to. The photo below is available on Wikipedia. It is one of those flowers I wish I had made.
The Gilboa Iris. udi Steinwell / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)
Here I am treading on floral landmines and I will gladly defer to several people I know who are much better informed about the flora of Israel. But I wanted to share a couple of photos that I made on Mount Gilboa.
Spring flower, possibly a Crown Anemone, on Mount Gilboa. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins
Perhaps a Hollyhock on Mount Gilboa in the spring. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
White spring flowers, possibly in the Ainsworthia group, growing on Mount Gilboa. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Kind comments are now open.
Ferrell's Travel Blog 
You visited Umh Qais? Or, do you mean Jerash? I know two ladies by the same name, but assume you may have traveled with me to Turkey. I know very few persons who have been to Umh Qais. That is not too far from Mount Gilboa. I have lost some of my best photos. 🙂
Ferrell
Neels, you must walk to the top. When the National Parks of Israel are open, the fortress of Herod should be open. I do not know about the newer excavations where Herod was buried. You might locate the info online.
Hi Ferrell,
When visting the Herodium, how do one get on top of it?
Kind regards
Neels van Biljon
South Africa
We saw black irises at Gedara in Jordan March 2018. Our guide told us they were the national flower of Jordan. (I was sad that I accidentally cut off the lower part of the flower in my pic!)
Marcia Johnson