Invasions of adventive plants in Israel

Some 123 adventive wild species occur in the flora of Israel: 42% are of tropical origin, 22.7% are North American. About 2/3 of the species reached Israel through neighbouring countries; 1/3 arrived directly from their countries of origin. Four patterns of population dynamics can be recognized: accidental species, species with limited distribution, colonizing species, and species penetrating into natural habitats. About 30 species are widespread noxious weeds which now have economic significant in Israel; 20 others are known to have similar ecological tendencies in other countries. -from Authors