Since we had a heat wave, we decided to climg (again) ot Mt Hermon in order to escape the 35 degrees. It was cool and beautiful, we found tons of Hyacinths and we were happy. By the way, the cultivated hyacinths are all derived from this species that grows between Israel and Turkey.
We had a heat wave last month, so we 'escaped' the to the heights of Mt Hermon, estonished to see so many wild hyacinths in full bloom. Since Mt Hermon has karstic (sponge-like) limestone, many of the hyacinths sprouted into the rocks holes-windows.
Hyacinthus orientalis is the wild progenitor of cultivated hyacinths. Unlike the cultivzated ones, the wild plant is more delicate - both in inflorescence morphology and in fragrant (which is much better!). It is a protected species in Israel - common in Mt Hermon where this pic was taken, in the Galilee it is rare.
This is an old scanned slide of the progenitor of the cultivated hyacinth. It is distributed from north Israel (where this pic was taken) to southern Turkey. It is a protected species blooming in February-March.