Hermon Nature Reserve
Flora and fauna
The common birds in the reserve include white-throated robin, western rock nuthatch, sombre tit and northern wheatear. There are many species of butterflies, of which 23 are unique to the Hermon nature reserve and do not exist in pre-1967 Israel. The common reptiles in the reserve include the Vipera bornmuelleri and the four-lined snake.
Due to the height of the mountain the growth and the blooming begins at the top of the mountain in August, instead of the spring.
In 1905 the botanist Aaron Aaronsohn discovered what he called "the mother of wheat", Triticum dicoccoides, on the eastern slopes of Mount Hermon. In its time, this was a discovery of the greatest importance, as there were plans to hybridize "wild wheat" with other cultivars to produce a grain more easily grown in inhospitable locations. Eventually, this plan was abandoned; it didn't work.