Helichrysum sanguineum
Helichrysum sanguineum, known in English as red everlasting and red cudweed, is a flowering plant of the genus Helichrysum in the family Asteraceae.<ref name=FiIsr/> It grows in mountain forests in the Levant where it blooms in April–June.<ref name=FiIsr/><ref name=JRBG>helichrysum sanguineum - Red everlasting Template:Webarchive, Royal Botanic Garden, Jordan. Accessed April 2020.</ref> The flower, known in Hebrew as "Blood of the Maccabees", has become the icon of Yom Hazikaron, Memorial Day for Israel's Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terrorism.<ref name=FiIsr/>
Name
Helichrysum sanguineum (L.) Kostel is not to be mistaken for Helichrysum sanguineum Boiss. = Gnaphalium sanguineum L., which is known in English as sowbread<ref name=Sardis>Crawford H. Greenewalt, jr., Lydian Cosmetics, Sardis Expedition: Archaeological Exploration of Sardis, accessed April 2020</ref> or cyclamen.
In Arabic, the flower is known as "دم المسيح" (dam al-Massiah), meaning "blood of the Messiah"/"blood of Christ".
In Hebrew, it is known as "blood of the Maccabees" (Template:Langx, dam hamakabim). The name is derived from a legend saying that in every spot where the flower grows, a drop of blood has spilled on the earth.<ref name=FiIsr>Flowers in Israel</ref>
History
The Hebrew name Dam hamakabim was coined by the botanist Ephraim Hareuveni in 1917. The symbolic connection to Israeli war casualties first appeared in a poem by Haim Gouri written in memory of 35 Palmach comrades killed in January 1948.<ref>How a Wildflower Became a Symbol for Israel’s Memorial Day</ref> Since 2019, the non-profit organization Dam HaMaccabim has been distributing pins with the flower throughout Israel.<ref>Yaafa Abadi, "The Dam HaMaccabim Project Blossoms In Time For Yom Hazikaron", The Jerusalem Post</ref><ref>Mordechai Sones, "Red Everlasting: 'Blood of the Maccabees' flower sticker comes to life", Arutz Sheva</ref>
Distribution
The plant grows in the Levant, including: western Syria,<ref>Helichrysum sanguineum (L.) Kostel, JSTOR Global Plants, accessesd April 2020</ref> the Mediterranean coast of Lebanon and Mount Lebanon up to an altitude of 1000 m,<ref name=Lebanon>Helichrysum sanguineum (L.) Kostel, Lebanon FLORA, accessesd April 2020</ref> on the Golan Heights, in most of the northern and central part of Israel and the West Bank (Upper and Lower Galilee, around the Sea of Galilee, on Mount Carmel and the Coastal Plain south of it, Mount Gilboa, the northern part of the Jordan Valley, Samaria, the Judaean Mountains and the Shefela), and the mountainous Gilead region in Jordan<ref name=ISRflora>Helichrysum sanguineum (L.) Kostel, Flowers of Israel Online, Prof. Avinoam Danin, accessesd April 2020</ref> (the areas of Jerash and Dibeen, Ajloun, and Al-Salt).<ref name=JRBG/>
In Israel, Helichrysum sanguineum is an endangered species.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>