Cyclamen (Cyclamen )
Second in the "Flowers of Israel" Series

Cyclamen flowers sprout leaves after the first rains and start to bloom in winter. In hilly areas, the blossoming season can last until May. There are special cyclamen populations that grow in rocky areas in Israel's north, which seem to herald the start of the rainy season.
The cyclamen has as many as 32 names in Arabic (among them, "Rabbits Ears", "Solomon's Crown", "Judge's Pipe", "Pair of Lovebirds", "Horn of the Gazelle").
The Cyclamen bulbs contain soapy substances that help in lowering facial pressure and in removing stains from cloth. For this reason, they were used in the past as a soap substitute, particularly by shepherds, and known as "Soap of the Shepherds ". The bulbs are also used for fishing bait which "drugs" the fishes and causes them to float, thus enabling the fishermen to collect them. This explains the origin of another of the cyclamen's names in Arabic – "Anesthetic of the Whale".

*The above texts are based on: Amots Dafni and Noam Avitsel, Mi-Koter ve-ud Tsamereth – 200 Millim al 200 Tsemachim (in Hebrew) (Haifa: Pardes Publishers, 2018)


Design: Aharon Shevo

Description
Face: A beautiful flower depiction in full color. Around the border, the name of the flower in English and Hebrew. To the right, the Holy Land Mint trademark , to the left the weight, metal fineness and mint year.
Common Reverse: A variety of flowers.