12 · Sawsan

The Faqqua iris, Iris haynei, is endemic to the Faqqu'a hills near Jenin. In 2016 the Palestinian Council of Ministers declared it the national flower on the recommendation of the Environment Quality Authority [1] [2]. It is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN, and each stem carries a single bloom [1]. The red anemone that decorates so many things is not the national flower; the iris is [3].

The real flower is a deep purple-brown we would never print, so it is drawn uncoloured, the way a botanist draws: one stem leaning slightly, two sword leaves from the base, three falls drooping and three standards rising. Uncoloured is more botanical, not less.

It sits on the left chest, seven centimetres tall, with its Arabic name and the year beneath. The full herbarium sheet — rhizome, tape strips, label — is kept for a later edition. This is the smallest drawing in the collection and the one that prints on every substrate.

For every T-shirt sold, FREE PALESTINE MEDIA S.R.L. gives €5 to a medical charity working in Gaza and the West Bank — named here once the written agreement is signed. The €5 is given by us from our own revenue; it is not a payment by you to the charity and is not tax-deductible for you. Transfers are made monthly and published on the ledger.