Alcea setosa Alcea setosa Alcea setosa, the bristly hollyhock, is an ornamental plant in the family Malvaceae. The bristly hollyhock is native to the Levant, ranging from Crete and Turkey to Israel and Jordan. The part above ground of the plant withers and dies in the summer. In the winter, a rosette of flowers develops and a vertical flowering stem grows out of it. The pink flowers are numerous and large, while in the Galilee and the Carmel the flowers are darker and in the Gilboa and Samaria the flowers are lighter. The whole plant is bristly, hence its common name. The
Swiftia rosea Swiftia rosea Swiftia rosea is a species of gorgonian-type octocoral in the family Plexauridae. Colonies of this sea fan are usually high. There is usually a single main stem with a few branches at an angle to the main stem but in a single plane. The polyps are in two rows on the thicker branches but near the tips they are closer together and more disordered. The colour of this sea fan is dark red. The polyps are colourless and cannot be retracted back into the branches. This sea fan resembles the closely related but rather less common "Swiftia pallida",