Endemism in the flora of Israel.

There are 155 known endemic plant species in Israel, which account for a relatively low 6.5% of the total vegetation. Most of the plants (96.1%) are neo-endemic, and only 3.9% paleo-endemic. The proportion of geophytes and chamaephytes is greater, and annuals smaller, among the endemic species than in the total flora. Many of the endemic species are of Irano-Turanian origin. The endemics are most abundant along the coastal plain, transitional zones and high mountains of the desert. Edaphically, sandy habitats along the coastal plain and rocky cliff areas are rich in endemic species; ruderal habitats, salt marshes and damp/wet habitats are especially poor in them. The Compositae and Fabaceae have a large number of endemic species; the Poaceae and Brassicaceae are relatively poor. There is no clear relation between the number of species in a genus and the number of endemic species in it. Some endemic species are rare (51.4%), others quite common (42.9%); 18.3% of the species are dominant in the flora of Israel. About 80% of the endemic species in Israel have allopatric vicarious species. While annual endemic species usually have a sympatric vicarious species, the allopatric pattern is dominant in perennials. Where sympatry or parapatry does exist, a separation of the species is observed in microhabitats. -from Author