About Echium judaeum Lacaita
Echium judaeum grows to a height of about 50 cm (20 in), and produces funnel-shaped flowers that bloom between February and May. It is one of the few flowering plants where lavender-colored and pink-colored flowers can be found growing alongside each other on the same inflorescence. If observed again after a few days, the original lavender flower color changes to deep purple, violet, or blue. This flower color change is reported to occur after pollination. The flowers are bisexual, with petals that measure 25–32 mm (1.0–1.3 in) long. The plant's simple leaves and stems are completely covered in fine bristles that grow out of dark scales, which makes the plant unpleasant to touch. In Arabic, this species is called Hyena's henna (Arabic: حنا الضبع, romanized: henna al-dhabaʿ). In Modern Hebrew, it is called "the serpent of Judah" (Hebrew: עכנאי יהודה, romanized: ʿakhnai yehudah). This plant grows in shrublands, and also occurs in deserts. In Ottoman Palestine, honey bees harvested the flower's pollen to make honey.
