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Airbus Beluga

The Airbus A300-600ST (Super Transporter), or Beluga, is a specialised wide-body airliner used to transport aircraft parts and outsize cargoes. It received the official name of Super Transporter early on, but its nickname, after the beluga whale, which it resembles, gained popularity and has since been officially adopted.

Due to Airbus's manufacturing facilities being dispersed, the company had a long term need to transport sizeable components, such as wings and fuselage sections, to their final assembly lines. This had been met by a small fleet of Aero Spacelines "Super Guppies", but these aircraft were aged and increasingly maintenance-intensive to keep in operation. While several different existing aircraft were studied, none were found to be fully satisfactory. Instead, the company came to favour developing a derivative of its standard A300-600. In August 1991, a new joint venture company, Super Airbus Transport International (SATIC), was formed to pursue the venture.

Construction of the first aircraft began during September 1992; it performed its maiden flight on 13 September 1994. Entering service in September 1995, the Super Transporter was a larger, faster, and more efficient aircraft than the preceding Super Guppies. A total of five aircraft were built for Airbus; while additional new-build aircraft were offered to prospective operators by SATIC during the 1990s, no other customers ordered the type. In addition to its primary task of conveying Airbus components, the Super Transporter fleet has occasionally been used for charter flights, carrying outsized cargoes for various customers and purposes, from whole helicopters to industrial equipment and humanitarian aid. On 25 January 2022, Airbus announced a service offering outsize cargo transportation using its Beluga fleet.

During the 2010s, Airbus developed a slightly larger successor, the BelugaXL, based on the Airbus A330-200. This fleet, which entered service in January 2020, is intended to eventually replace the original Beluga fleet, which was entering its third decade. However, all aircraft have remained operational as of July 2024.

Background
When Airbus commenced operations in 1970, ground vehicles were initially used to move components and sections; however, growth in production volume soon necessitated a switch to air transport. From 1972 onwards, a fleet of four highly modified Aero Spacelines "Super Guppies" took over. These were 1940s-era Boeing Stratocruisers that had been converted with turbine engines and custom fuselages to carry large-volume loads for NASA's space program in the 1960s. Airbus' use of the Super Guppies led to the jest that "every Airbus is delivered on the wings of a Boeing". Over time, the Super Guppies grew increasingly unsatisfactory for Airbus's ferrying needs: their age meant that operating expenses were high and ever-increasing, and growing Airbus production required greater capacity than could be provided by the existing fleet.

Various options were studied to serve as a replacement transport medium for the Super Guppies, including methods of surface transportation by road, rail, and sea; these alternatives were discarded in favour of a principally air-based solution as they were considered time-consuming and unreliable; in addition, the assembly line in Toulouse was not conveniently accessible by any of the surface methods. A key requirement of the new air transporter was the need to accommodate every major component being manufactured by Airbus, including the then-heaviest planned part, the wing of the larger Airbus A340 variants. A speedy development program was also required to have the prospective type take over duties from the Super Guppy fleet, scheduled to be withdrawn in the mid-1990s.

Several different types of aircraft were examined for potential use, including the Antonov An-124, Antonov An-225, Ilyushin Il-86, Boeing 747, Boeing 767, Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, and McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III; the use of any existing aircraft was eventually ruled out due to a lack of internal space for the desired components; the use of a piggyback solution was also dismissed as impractical. Boeing made an offer to convert several Boeing 767s for the requirement, but this was viewed as less advantageous than purpose-built aircraft using Airbus' existing twin-engined Airbus A300-600R.

In August 1991, Aérospatiale and DASA, two of the major Airbus partners, formed a 50/50 joint venture company, Super Airbus Transport International (SATIC), based in Toulouse, to develop a new-build replacement for the Super Guppy fleet. The selected starting point for the design was the Airbus A300, leading to the new airframe being designated as the A300-600ST Super Transporter. Following a pre-design period by SATIC, detailed design work was performed by Aérospatiale and DASA while subcontractors were selected to complete the 15 separate work packages; amongst these subcontractors, CASA was selected to produce the upper fuselage, Dornier provided the hydraulic systems, and Sogerma performed the final assembly work. The A300-600ST was not a like-for-like replacement, being larger, faster, and more efficient than the preceding Super Guppies. Airbus elected to invest $1 billion into the program, this sum included the aircraft themselves, the cargo loading system, and program management.

Construction and further development

In September 1992, construction work began on the first aircraft, the maiden flight of which took place in September 1994. Following a total of 335 flight hours being performed during the test program, restricted certification of the type was awarded by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in October 1995, enabling the A300-600ST "Beluga" to enter service shortly thereafter. Originally a total of four aircraft were to be built along with an option for a fifth aircraft being available, which was later firmed up. Apart from the first Beluga, each airframe took an average of three years to complete from start to finish; they were built at a rate of one per year. Modification work was performed at Toulouse using components provided by the Airbus assembly line.

The fleet's primary task is to carry Airbus components ready for final assembly across Europe between Toulouse, Hamburg, and nine other sites, and they do so 60 times per week. The Beluga fleet is owned by Airbus Transport International (ATI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Airbus Group that was established specifically to operate the type; through this organisation, the fleet is made available for hire by third parties for charter flight. In May 1998, ATI reportedly had an annual revenue target of $15 million to be achieved via leasing spare capacity. Over time, the Beluga has been used to carry a variety of special loads, including space station components, large and delicate artwork, industrial machinery, and intact helicopters. The A300-600ST's freight compartment is 7.4 m in diameter and 37.7 m long; maximum payload is 47 tonnes.

In late 1997, in response to the positive performance of the A300-600ST Super Transporter program, SATIC announced that it was in the process of evaluating several different prospective outsize freighter conversions; company chairman Udo Dräger indicated that a larger freighter based on the Airbus A340 could be developed in a similar manner to that of the A300-based Beluga. At the time, derivatives of both the Airbus A330 and the A340 were studied, including combining the upward-swinging hinged door of the Beluga with a conventional upper deck as an alternative to a side-mounted cargo door in traditional freighter missions. During the 1990s, as a result of reported inquiries to Airbus regarding the type, a niche market for selling Beluga-type aircraft to military customers and freight operators was also examined; but sales were considered 'unlikely' to take place by the late 1990s. Its unit cost is €183 million.

In November 2014, Airbus announced that it was proceeding with the development of a larger replacement based on the Airbus A330-200, planning to replace the BelugaST fleet entirely by 2025. The BelugaXL entered service in 2020. Airbus previously considered the A330-300 and A340-500, but each required too much of the limited 1,663 m runway at Hawarden Airport near Broughton in Wales. In May 2015, Airbus confirmed that the new aircraft would have a 1 m wider cross-section than its predecessor and provide a 12% increase in payload. The BelugaXL is intended primarily for A350 work, designed to ship two A350 wings simultaneously. The first two aircraft were considered essential to facilitate mass production of the A350, while the following aircraft were to be progressively introduced as the A300-600 Beluga fleet was withdrawn.

Design

The A300-600ST Beluga shares many design similarities, although differing substantially in appearance, to the Airbus A300 upon which it was based. The wings, engines, landing gear, and the lower part of the fuselage remain identical to those used on the conventional A300, while the upper part of the fuselage forms an enormous horseshoe-shaped structure 7.7 m in diameter. In comparison with the Super Guppy, the payload was more than doubled and the volume increased by more than 30% The General Electric CF6-80C2 turbofan engines used are slightly uprated from those used on the standard A300 as well. The vertical stabilizer uses a modified A340 fin with a 1.12 m base extension while the tailplane was strengthened and fitted with auxiliary fins to maintain directional stability. The tailplane trim tank was also deleted.

To provide access to the cargo area from the front without having to disconnect all electrical, hydraulic and flight control connections (and also avoiding the lengthy recalibrations before each flight that reconnection entailed), the standard A300 cockpit was relocated down below the cargo-floor level. By relocating the cockpit in this manner, loading times were halved from those typically achieved with the Super Guppy, which had needed to disconnect and reconnect such systems. Another reason for faster loading times was the adoption of a roll-on/roll-off loading system, as well as the ability to unload the aircraft in winds of up to 40 knots. The qualities and improved capabilities of the Beluga resulted in the costs associated with transporting Airbus components dropping to one-third of those being incurred operating the Super Guppy.

The cockpit of the Beluga is pressurized but the cargo deck is not, making it inaccessible during flight and unsuitable for cargoes that require a pressurized environment, such as live animals. However, the cargo deck is fitted with a heating module to keep the cargo within an appropriate temperature range. On at least one occasion, a pressurized container has been used for cargo. The aircraft is operated by a crew of three – two pilots and a loadmaster.

The main deck cargo volume of the Beluga is greater than that of the C-5 Galaxy or the Antonov An-124, but still smaller than Antonov An-225. However, it is restricted by cargo-weight capacity of 47 tonnes, compared to 122.5 tonnes for the C-5 Galaxy and 150 tonnes for the An-124. Despite this width, the Beluga cannot carry most fuselage parts of the Airbus A380, which are instead normally transported by ship and road; nevertheless, some A380 components have been transported by Belugas.

Operational history
In January 1996, the Beluga formally entered service, ferrying components from various aerospace sites to the final assembly lines. The geographic location of Airbus manufacturing is not only influenced by cost and convenience; it is also a matter of aviation history and national interests. Traditionally, each of the Airbus partners makes an entire aircraft section, which would then be transported to a central location for final assembly; even after the integration of Airbus into a single firm, the arrangement had largely remained the same, with Airbus partners becoming subsidiaries or contractors of the multinational pan-European company. The details vary from one model to another, but the general arrangement is for the wings and landing gear to be made in the UK, the tail and doors in Spain, the fuselage in Germany, and the nose and centre-section in France, with final assembly in either Toulouse, France; Hamburg, Germany; or Seville, Spain.

On 24 October 1997, the last of Airbus's Super Guppy freighters was retired and its outsize cargo mission from that point onwards being exclusively performed by the new A300-600ST fleet. In 1997, the second year of Beluga operations, the fleet accumulated in excess of 2,500 flight hours across more than 1,400 flights. By 2012, the fleet was performing roughly 5,000 flight hours per year and further increases were being publicly anticipated by Airbus.

Various infrastructure upgrades have been made at multiple locations to better accommodate the Beluga, many of which being delivered after its entry to service. In 2011, Pau Pyrénées Airport, a site routinely visited by Belugas, became the first airport in Europe to deploy the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service, which accurately guides the Beluga and other aircraft during landing. In 2015, a dedicated Beluga loading station was opened at Hawarden Airport, preventing high winds from disrupting future operations. A two-bay loading dock was opened in Toulouse in 2019, receiving 85–100 flights per week, as the five A300-600STs are operated 7,600 hours a year together. By enclosing the forward section, including the open large cargo door, a faster one hour and 20 minutes turnaround, down from two hours and 30 minutes, could be achieved, along with reduced weather-related restrictions.

In addition to its primary supply duties to Airbus' production facilities, Belugas have often performed charter flights for various purposes. In 1997, ATI claimed that it had to reject eight out of ten requests for commercial Beluga flights, the fleet being able to spare only 130 flight hours for such duties that year. But as more Beluga aircraft were put into service, availability increased drastically, rising to 600 flight hours in 1998 and around 1,000 flight hours in 1999; this effectively enabled one of the five Beluga aircraft to spend much of its operating hours performing charter flights. Amongst the early customers chartering Beluga flights was Boeing.

In June 1997, a world record was set for the most voluminous payload to be carried by an aircraft when a Beluga was used to transport a chemical tank for a merchant vessel from Clermont-Ferrand to Le Havre, France. In February 2003, a single Beluga performed the farthest distance charter flight ever, having flown for 25 hours (not including refuelling stops) to transport two complete NHI NH90 helicopters along with a single Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopter from Marseille, France, to Melbourne, Australia, for the Avalon Airshow.

In 1999, a Beluga carried a large painting, Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix, which had hung in the Louvre in Paris since 1874. It was flown from Paris to Tokyo via Bahrain and Kolkata in about 20 hours. The large canvas, measuring 2.99 m high by 3.62 m long, was too large to fit into a Boeing 747. It was transported in the vertical position inside a special pressurized container provided with isothermal protection and an anti-vibration device.

In 2004, a Beluga delivered relief supplies to the Indian Ocean region following widespread devastation of coastal areas by a major tsunami. In 2005, the type transported humanitarian aid and medical supplies from the United Kingdom and France to the Gulf Coast of the United States as part of disaster relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The Beluga has seen recurrent use to transport bulky objects, including vehicles, for various different space programs. In 2001, sections of the unmanned Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) space vehicle were transported by a Beluga from Turin, Italy, to Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 2004, multiple Beluga flights were made to Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, to deliver Astrium-built satellites. In 2009, a Beluga was used to convey the Tranquility module of the International Space Station from Turin to Kennedy Space Center, United States.

On 25 January 2022, Airbus announced a service offering outsize cargo transportation using its BelugaST fleet. Airbus Beluga Transport saw additional demand after sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 affected Russian-operated Antonov An-124 services and the destruction of the sole Antonov An-225; the company stated that it foresaw in excess of 150 such flights being performed annually. In September 2022, Airbus begun testing a new loading system for handling outsized military cargo with the BelugaST fleet; a verification exercise was conducted with the German armed forces, the system’s first customer, during which a Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion military transport helicopter was loaded into a Beluga.

title: Airbus Beluga


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Pink Narcissus

Pink Narcissus is a 1971 American arthouse drama film directed by James Bidgood and starring (unknowns) Bobby Kendall, Don Brooks and stage actor Charles Ludlam. It visualizes the erotic fantasies of a gay male prostitute.

Premise
Between visits from his keeper, or John, a handsome male prostitute (Bobby Kendall), alone in his apartment, lounges, fantasizing about worlds where he is the central character. For example, he pictures himself as a matador, a Roman slave boy and the emperor who condemns him, and the keeper of a male harem for whom another male performs a belly dance.

Production
In a 2005 interview, Bidgood enumerated some of the film's inspirations, such as the British film The Red Shoes and actress Maria Montez. Most of the film's extras were people actor Don Brooks found on the streets when he went out of the set on "talent searches".

The film is mostly shot on 8 mm film with bright, otherworldly lighting and intense colors. Aside from its last, climactic scene, which was shot in a downtown Manhattan loft, it was produced in its entirety (including outdoor scenes) in Bidgood's small New York City apartment over a seven-year (from 1963 to 1970) period and ultimately released without the consent of the director, who therefore had himself credited as Anonymous. He said in the interview, "See, why I took my name off of it was that I was protesting, which I'd heard at the time that's what you did..."

Provenance
Because the name of the filmmaker was not widely known, there were rumors that Andy Warhol was behind it. In the mid-1990s, writer Bruce Benderson began a search for its maker based on several leads and finally verified that it was James Bidgood, who was still living in Manhattan and was working on a film script. In 1999, a book researched and written by Benderson was published by Taschen about Bidgood's body of photographic and filmic work.

Bidgood's unmistakably kitschy style was later imitated and refined by artists such as Pierre et Gilles.

In 2003, the film was re-released by Strand Releasing as the film had its 35th anniversary in 2006.

Music

 * Joseph Haydn: Horn Concerto No. 1
 * Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition
 * Modest Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain
 * Sergei Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky
 * Kenneth Gaburo: "Lemon Drops"
 * Genaro Nunez, Banda Taurina, Rosalio Juarez: "Corazon Hispano"

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Pink Narcissus


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Seat of government

The seat of government is (as defined by Brewer's Politics) "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority".

In most countries, the nation's capital is also seat of its government, thus that city is appropriately referred to as the national seat of government. The terms are not however, completely synonymous, as some countries' seat of government differs from the capital. The Netherlands, for example, has Amsterdam as its capital but The Hague is the seat of government; and the Philippines, with Manila as its capital but the metropolitan area of the same name (Metro Manila; also known as National Capital Region (NCR)), is the seat of government.

Local seats of government
Local and regional authorities usually have a seat, called an administrative centre, as well. Terms for seats of local government of various levels and in various countries include:
 * County seat (United States)
 * County town (UK and Ireland)
 * City hall/Town hall
 * Barrio-pueblo (Puerto Rico)

Buildings as seats of government
Examples of seats of government include:
 * Canada: The suite of buildings on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, where the Canadian Parliament meets.
 * India: Three sites in Raisina Hill, New Delhi: the New Parliament House (legislative seat), the Rashtrapati Bhavan, 7, Lok Kalyan Marg (executive seat), Supreme Court of India (judicial seat).
 * Philippines: Four buildings in National Capital Region (NCR)/Metro Manila, Philippines: the GSIS Building in Pasay (Senate of the Philippines) and Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City: House of Representatives of the Philippines (legislative seat), the Malacañang Palace (executive seat), and Supreme Court of the Philippines (judicial seat) in Manila.
 * United Kingdom: The Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster, in Central London, where the British Parliament meets.
 * United States: Three sites in Washington, D.C.: the United States Capitol (legislative seat), the White House (executive seat), and the United States Supreme Court building (judicial seat).

List of seats of country government which are not country capitals
There are several countries where, for various reasons, the official capital and de facto seat of government are separated:
 * Benin: Porto-Novo is the official capital, but Cotonou is the seat of government.
 * Bolivia: Sucre is the constitutional capital, and the supreme tribunal of justice is located in Sucre, making it the judicial capital. The Palacio Quemado, the national congress and national electoral court are located in La Paz, making it the seat of government.
 * Eswatini (Swaziland): Lobamba is the traditional, spiritual, and legislative capital city of Eswatini, seat of the Parliament, while the capital is  Mbabane.
 * Israel and Palestine: Jerusalem is considered to be the national capital of Israel since 1950 but was fully declared the undivided capital of the nation from 1980 according to the Jerusalem Law, though most government offices are located in West Jerusalem. This move is not recognized by the international community but majority of the embassies are located in Tel Aviv. In addition, the State of Palestine also declares East Jerusalem or the entirety of Jerusalem to be its capital but the seat of government resides in Ramallah as with the Palestinian National Authority. (For more details see: Status of Jerusalem.)
 * Ivory Coast: Yamoussoukro was designated the national capital in 1983, but most government offices and embassies are still located in Abidjan.
 * Malaysia: Putrajaya the federal administrative centre of the Malaysia. The seat of government was shifted in 1999 from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya because of overcrowding and congestion in the former.
 * Montserrat: Its official capital is Plymouth, but it was permanently abandoned in 1997 after it was completely destroyed by the eruptions of the Soufrière Hills volcano. Since 1998 the de facto capital is Brades. The move was initially intended to be temporary, but it has remained the island's de facto capital ever since. Several names have been suggested for the new official capital now being constructed in the Little Bay area.
 * Netherlands: Amsterdam is the constitutional national capital even though the Dutch government, the parliament, the supreme court, the Council of State, and the work palace of the King are all located in The Hague, as are almost all the embassies. (For more details see: Capital of the Netherlands.)
 * Sri Lanka: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, commonly known as Kotte is the official administrative capital of Sri Lanka. It is a satellite city of and located within the urban area of Sri Lanka's de facto economic and legislative capital, Colombo.
 * Tanzania: Until 1974, Dar es Salaam served as Tanzania's capital city, at which point the capital city commenced transferring to Dodoma, by order of then-president Julius Nyerere, which was officially completed in 1996. However,, it remained focus of central government bureaucracy, although this is in the process of fully moving to Dodoma.

Countries with no official capital

 * Nauru: Yaren District (in earlier times Makwa/Moqua), is the de facto capital of Nauru; the republic does not have an official capital.
 * Switzerland:, no Swiss city holds an official status of national capital. In 1848, the Federal Assembly voted to locate the seat of government in Bern, but no official status was granted to the city. The city has since been informally referred to as "Federal City".
 * Republic of China (Taiwan): Since 7 December 1949, Taipei has been the provisional capital and the seat of government of the Republic of China after losing the Chinese Civil War. Although Nanjing had been claimed as the nominal capital of the country, its claims were downplayed in the 1990s.

Historical examples

 * Federal Republic of Germany: Since German reunification in 1990 at the end of the Cold War and until 1999, Berlin was its capital and Bonn was the seat of government. However, the Berlin-Bonn Act specifies that many federal government institutions are to maintain a seat in Bonn indefinitely. Prior to reunification, the question as to what was the de jure capital was complicated by questions regarding the status of Berlin.
 * Kingdom of England: The traditional capital was the City of London, while Westminster, outside of the boundaries of the City of London, was the seat of government. They are both today part of the urban core of Greater London.
 * Kingdom of France: The traditional capital was Paris, though in the periods 1682–1789 and 1871–1879 the seat of government was at the Palace of Versailles, located southwest of Paris.

title: Seat of government


text:
Talk:Demographics of Israel

Birth numbers for August 2021 are out
16.600 births overall, looks like Covid triggered a massive baby boom in Israel, nearly 10 percent increase in total number of births compared with the same month in the previous year, here August 2020.

Also, the increase is much large within the jewish community than among other religious groups.

https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/publications/doclib/2021/yarhon1021/c1.pdf

62.226.83.222 (talk) 00:16, 28 October 2021 (UTC)

Where's the updated figures for 2023? They get updated every Rosh HaShanah (new year). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2405:6E00:2440:6336:399B:DA39:F8A5:6168 (talk) 06:29, 10 November 2023 (UTC)

Average population
In the vital statistics table, the end-year populations have been included an not the average population. I will correct that when I have time, 2018-2020 numbers are correct. https://www.cbs.gov.il/en/Statistics/Pages/Generators/Time-Series-DataBank.aspx Givibidou (talk) — Preceding undated comment added 21:53, 17 February 2022 (UTC)

Australian to Israel Immigration rate doesn't match
The "Net migration rate" section has 143 Australians for 2019 (January to October), but the table "migration/Aliyah" shows zero. Wakelamp d[@-@]b (talk) 08:45, 25 April 2022 (UTC)

Is the Density Section mislabeled?
The Density section refers to demographic deployment, but there is a chart marked Density which uses different numbers. The term Deployment does not seem to appear in demographic or geographic glossaries except as a description of military movements 08:59, 25 April 2022 (UTC) Wakelamp d[@-@]b (talk) 08:59, 25 April 2022 (UTC)

Historical population
the percentage data are incorrect, I don't know how to fix it 212.235.98.140 (talk) 08:46, 18 September 2022 (UTC)

 * What you need to do is bring a source for us to look at. Zerotalk 08:58, 18 September 2022 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 21:37, 1 November 2022 (UTC)
 * Arabs Israel.png

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 3 November 2022
Could someone please remove the redundant map and/or picture of road signs in this section. It makes WP:SANDWICH with the text and messes up the following section on religion. Before A455bcd9's changes, the section on languages didn't have that map, which is already repeated in other articles when appropriate, it's not representative of the general (non-Arabic speaking) Israeli population and there is a better map in a different section with the distribution of the Arab population in the country anyway.--Noha Erssam (talk) 16:22, 3 November 2022 (UTC)
 * Done! Tweedle (talk) 21:55, 3 November 2022 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 28 November 2022
I have a fresh-made ethno-cultural map of Israel. Can I or you on my behalf input it into the article body AFTER the line (the two map have slightly different conceptual approach to the Israel ethnicity representation.)? Yours. Sergei Kondrashov Sergey Kondrashov (talk) 07:33, 28 November 2022 (UTC)

 * @Sergey Kondrashov: could you please add links to the sources used? Also you wrote "Classification, I used for building this map does not follow any Israeli classification": wouldn't this be WP:OR? How did you define the threshold for a city to be "mixed"? (there's always at least 1 minority in each city). Lastly: I'm color blind and the map is impossible to read... A455bcd9 (talk) 07:48, 28 November 2022 (UTC)
 * “שכבת אזורים סטטיסטיים 2008 – אוכלוסייה, מין, דת וגיל” (https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/publications/DocLib/2022/%D7%A7%D7%98%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%92/1.%20%D7%99%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9D%20%D7%95%D7%97%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%AA%20%D7%92%D7%90%D7%95%D7%92%D7%A8%D7%A4%D7%99%D7%95%D7%AA/Stat2008_Pop_Sex_Age_Relig.zip), “שכבת יישובים 2008 – אוכלוסייה, מין, דת וגיל” (https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/publications/DocLib/2022/%D7%A7%D7%98%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%92/1.%20%D7%99%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%91%D7%99%D7%9D%20%D7%95%D7%97%D7%9C%D7%95%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%AA%20%D7%92%D7%90%D7%95%D7%92%D7%A8%D7%A4%D7%99%D7%95%D7%AA/Setl2008_Pop_Sex_Age_Relig.zip ), “איחודים של אזורים סטטיסטיים, 2019” (https://www.cbs.gov.il%2Fhe%2Fpublications%2Fdoclib%2F2017%2Fpopulation_madaf%2Fpopulation_madaf_2019_8.xls&usg=AOvVaw0tkv59uJHD8BliRG17XyLl ), “Summarized file of localities - census 2008” (https://www.cbs.gov.il%2Fen%2Fsubjects%2FDocuments%2Fmesukam1_e.xls&usg=AOvVaw27CapUGKlVZKe8LF7OwlIB ). Census geography is mostly represented by Statistical Areas (digital maps included in Israel CBS datasets).
 * The threshold for classifying the population of a statistical district as "mixed" on my map is when the second largest population group is at least half the size of the first one. Say, 60% and 35%. Sergey Kondrashov (talk) 08:16, 28 November 2022 (UTC)
 * Thanks @Sergey Kondrashov: please add the sources in File:Israel- geographical distribution of the main ethno-cultural communities.jpg. Regarding your definition of "mixed", it looks like WP:OR to me: CBS doesn't use this definition. As far as I remember, the usual definition in Israeli stats use a threshold of 2% of Arab population? A455bcd9 (talk) 08:33, 28 November 2022 (UTC)
 * Sorry, it's 10% according to Mixed cities. A455bcd9 (talk) 08:46, 28 November 2022 (UTC)
 * I think a better map is Population Distribution by Population Group and Religion 2018, p. 4: Sourced, free, not original research, high quality, detailed, colorblind-friendly. A455bcd9 (talk) 08:58, 28 November 2022 (UTC)
 * All sources are included into graphics - inside the frame in lower right part of the map. Sergey Kondrashov (talk) 09:13, 28 November 2022 (UTC)
 * Israel- geographical distribution of the main ethno-cultural communities.jpg Sergey Kondrashov (talk) 23:30, 5 December 2022 (UTC)

 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done for now: please establish a consensus for this alteration before using the template. Colonestarrice (talk) 14:24, 4 December 2022 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 29 November 2022
I want to update the Vital statistics section and correct the 2021 number of births. the information is from "Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. GuyUpdating (talk) 15:58, 29 November 2022 (UTC)

 * the page shows inaccurate data and youre blocking the option to edit it.
 * if you are not doing your job, let other people do it.
 * no one is even replying to the edit requests.
 * cant belive i actually donated to the site..silly me. GuyUpdating (talk) 14:44, 30 November 2022 (UTC)
 * Hey there, ! Wikipedia is run by volunteers, so apologies if your request wasn't tended to as quick as you'd have liked! Can you please write the specific changes you'd like to have made to the article in a "change X to Y" format, and provide a link to a reliable source?  TG HL ↗  🍁 20:38, 1 December 2022 (UTC)

Argentina in the wrong section.
In the recent ancestral background of Israeli Jews table, Argentina is in the asian section. Argentina should be in the Americas. Gabrielelquequieresaber (talk) 21:22, 16 February 2023 (UTC)

Opening Statement Mistake
Population described as only 9.73 inhabitants instead of presumably 9.73 million inhabitants? ChoShudh (talk) 18:27, 25 April 2023 (UTC)

 * Fixed that.Pechmerle (talk) 09:22, 28 April 2023 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 27 August 2023
Update density and population in infobox:

change population from 9,506,000 to 9,756,300

change density from 431 to 442 Orking888 (talk) 13:30, 27 August 2023 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. – Recoil16 (talk) 09:19, 28 August 2023 (UTC)

status aparte
Would anyone be able to add more on the term/status "status aparte" to clear up some inconsistencies? It appears once in the article, in "The Circassians in Israel enjoy, like Druzes, a status aparte". The term is however not used in the Druze subsection, although it is in the Demographics of Israel template along with a mention of it applying to Arameans, and Circassians are not given a mention in the template. A quick search online was sadly unproductive. CMD (talk) 08:52, 8 October 2023 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 19 November 2023
Request to add African immigration to Israel under Demographics of Israel. 223.25.74.34 (talk) 13:15, 19 November 2023 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: no reason given for the proposed change. M.Bitton (talk) 19:07, 21 November 2023 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 9 May 2024
The sentence: December 2023, this calculation stands at approximately 9,842,000 million, of whom:

should be: December 2023, this calculation stands at approximately 9,842,000 of whom: 2001:56A:7BE4:7A00:9566:26B9:27C4:EF01 (talk) 01:45, 9 May 2024 (UTC)
 * ✅ Charliehdb (talk) 09:40, 9 May 2024 (UTC)

DEMOGRAPHICS AS OF 2024
Please update to include the latest statistics. There are now 9.9 million Israelis including 7.427 million Jews and 2.089 million Arabs. See here. 185.182.71.28 (talk) 21:05, 12 May 2024 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 18 May 2024
Correct two addition errors on the table DEMOGRAPHICS OF ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

1. TOTAL AREA OF THE REGION OF PALESTINE OUTSIDE THE GREEN LINE should be the sum of the two preceding rows: 5880 + 365 = 6245

2. TOTAL ISRAEL + PALESTINE COMBINED AREA should be TOTAL WEST BANK + GAZA STRIP + GREEN LINE + GOLAN HEIGHTS which is 5880 + 365 + 20582 + 1154 = 27981 104.230.112.3 (talk) 13:16, 18 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: Please turn off your caps lock, then we may reconsider.  thetechie@enwiki  :  ~/talk/  $  03:12, 2 June 2024 (UTC)

Israeli citizens in Gaza
To note, there are Israeli citizens residing in Gaza. See for example this article in Haaretz. The number is low, but not "0" as indicated in this page. -- Soman (talk) 23:51, 24 May 2024 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 29 May 2024
Jewish is NOT an ethnicity. To be Jewish is a religion. Please change the ethnicity of “Jewish” to an actual geographical country. 2001:56A:79AD:CD00:682F:9E2D:EA6:F65E (talk) 00:18, 29 May 2024 (UTC)

 * ❌: While I would agree to change the article if it asserted that Jews were another race (which is obviously false), ethnicity does not equal race. Ethnicity is "a group of people who identify with each other on the basis of perceived shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups." Jews are an ethno-religious group. Again, I want to stress that this just means they are a distinct group, and this has nothing to do with genetic background. Sincerely, Professor Penguino (talk) 03:20, 2 June 2024 (UTC)
 * Jews see themselves as a nation, not a religion, with a common history and ancestry. That's how they see themselves, which is what is relevant here. A Jew converting to another religion is still considered a Jew as well as atheist Jews. 2A02:ED0:4230:E400:6851:764E:DFF5:19D3 (talk) 17:29, 14 July 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Demographics of Israel


text:
Cucoloris

In lighting for film, theatre and still photography, a cucoloris (occasionally also spelled cuculoris, kookaloris, cookaloris or cucalorus) is a light modifier (tool, device) for casting shadows or silhouettes to produce patterned illumination. It is normally referred to as a cookie or sometimes as a kook or a coo-koo. The cucoloris is used to create a more natural look by breaking up the light from a man-made source. It can be used to simulate movement by passing shadows or light coming through a leafy canopy.

Etymology
The etymology of the word is opaque, bearing a number of plausible origins. Grant Barett, a co-host of the radio show "A Way with Words", suggested that the phrase is an eponym of George Cukor. Moreover, a specious claim cited by "Directing and Producing Television" maintained that the term arose from the Greek kukaloris, breaking of light, loris conceivably cognate with luo, 'I break'. Another possibility is an origin in the German word Kokolores, which can mean "nonsense" or "boasting", like the English word Cockalorum.

Overview
Generally, cookies fall into three groups: hard cookies, made from thin plywood or heavy poster board with random shapes cut out of the body; soft cookies (often called "celo" cookies), made from plastic impregnated screen (the same screen one might find in a storm window), also with random shapes cut or burned out; and brancholorises or dingles, which are simply tree limbs or other available things that can be placed between the light and the subject.

Many "old-school" grips would say that any unnatural pattern used to create a shadow is a cookie.

Cucolorises are sometimes thought of as a subset of the gobo category. Cucolorises differ from standard gobos in that they are used farther away from the lighting instrument, and therefore do not need to be as heat resistant. Cuculorises generally produce softer edges than gobos.

A similar technique to using a cookie is simulated in 3D computer graphics, where using an alpha map as a cookie (sometimes called a light texture) to cast shadows on 3D objects is simulated by applying an alpha texture to an emitting light source in the 3D scene, typically a spot light type or a directional light type, to serve as a virtual cookie that projects shadows onto 3D object(s) by emitting light only through the transparent or translucent parts of the alpha texture, thus simulating the effect of a cucoloris as used in its real-world counterpart. This effect is commonly used in both 3D computer-generated animation and video games.

History
Cinematographer George J. Folsey, ASC thus recounted the history: "While shooting a scene with an actor who was wearing a white shirt, he wanted to separate the skin tones on the actor’s face from the hue of the shirt. Folsey told a grip to hold a stepladder in front of a key light to create a shadow on the actor’s shirt. The closer that the ladder was held to the light, the softer and less defined the shadow became. The grip eventually tired of holding the ladder, so he cut a grill with the same pattern in a sheet of light wood. One day, Folsey visited Hal Rosson, ASC, who was shooting on another set. In the scene, an actress was lying on a bed swathed in white sheets. Rosson used Folsey’s wooden grill to create some shadows, which made the scene more dramatic. Later, while shooting a similar situation, Rosson asked Folsey, “Where’s that kookaloris thing?”"

title: Cucoloris


text:
Hypericum perforatum

Hypericum perforatum, commonly known as St John's wort (sometimes perforate St John's wort or common St John's wort), is a flowering plant in the family Hypericaceae. It is a perennial plant that grows up to one meter tall, with many yellow flowers that have clearly visible black glands around their edges, long stamens (male reproductive organs), and three pistils (female reproductive organs). Probably a hybrid between the closely related H. attenuatum and H. maculatum (imperforate St John's wort) that originated in Siberia, the species is now found worldwide. It is native to temperate regions across Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to East Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of North and South America. In many areas where it is not native, H. perforatum is considered a noxious weed. It densely covers open areas to the exclusion of native plants, and is poor grazing material. As such, methods for biocontrol have been introduced in an attempt to slow or reverse the spread of the species.

The species produces numerous chemical compounds that are highly active. These chemicals are harmful to large animals, especially sheep, and help to deter herbivores from consuming the plant. Other chemicals in the plant, such as hypericin and hyperforin, have various uses in medicine. St John's wort has been used in traditional medicine since at least the first century AD, often as a cure-all or panacea. The oil from its glands can be extracted, or its above-ground parts can be ground into a powder called herba hyperici. In modern times, its use as an antidepressant has been the focus of numerous studies and clinical trials; however, the active ingredients can be very harmful or even lethal when taken alongside other medicines.

Description
Hypericum perforatum is an herbaceous perennial plant with hairless (glabrous) stems and leaves.

The root of each plant is slender and woody with many small, fibrous small side roots and also extensive, creeping rhizomes. The central root grows to a depth of 0.6–1.5 meters into the soil depending on conditions. The crown of the root is woody.

Its stems are erect and branched in the upper section, and usually range from 0.3 metres to 1 metre in height. The stems are woody near their base and look like they have segmented joints from the scars left behind after the leaves fall off. The stems of H. perforatum are rusty-yellow to rosy in color with two distinct edges and usually have bark that sheds near the base. The stems persist through the winter and sprout new growth with flower buds in the following year; first year growth does not produce flowers.

It has leaves that attach on opposite sides of the stems without a stalk (sessile). The leaves vary in shape from being very narrow and almost grass-like (linear), to a rounded oval slightly wider at the base with a rounded tip or not much of a tip (elliptic), or even narrow with the widest portion towards the end of the leaf like a reversed lance point, but still long and narrow (oblanceolate). The principle leaves range in length from 0.8 to 3.5 centimetres and 0.31–1.6 centimetres in width. Leaves borne on the branches subtend the shortened branchlets. The leaves are yellow-green in color, with scattered translucent dots of glandular tissue. The dots are clearly visible when held up to the light, giving the leaves a perforated appearance. The edges (margins) of the leaves usually have scattered black dots, often called dark glands, though sometimes they will appear away from the edges. The odor of the plant is faint, but aromatic, resembling that of resins like balsam. The taste of the plant is bitter and acrid.

Flowering characteristics
The flowers are conspicuous and showy, measuring about 1.5–2.5 cm across, and are bright yellow with black dots along the edges of the petals. Each of the flowers normally has five large petals and five smaller leaf-like sepals below them. The sepals are about 4–5 mm in length, green in color, are shaped like the head of a spear (lanceolate shape) with a pointed tip, and the same clear and black glands as the leaves. The petals are significantly longer, 8–12 mm in length, and have an oblong shape. They completely hide the sepals from the front side of the flower. The many bright yellow stamens are united at the base into three bundles. The stalk portion of the stamens, the filaments, vary in length and stick out in every direction from the center of the flower. The pollen grains are pale brown to orange in color.

The flowers are arranged along one side of each flowering stem with two flowers at each node (a helicoid cyme) at the ends of the upper branches, between late spring and early to mid-summer. Each flowering stem bears many flowers, between 25 and 100, and also is quite leafy.

The fruit of Hypericum perforatum is a capsule 7–8 mm in length containing the seeds in three valved chambers. Seeds that are separated from the capsules have a much higher germination rate due to an inhibiting factor in the capsule itself. The black and lustrous seeds are rough, netted with coarse grooves. Each seed is about 1 millimeter in size. Each plant may produce an average of 15,000 to 34,000 seeds.

Similar species
Hypericum maculatum is visually similar to Hypericum perforatum; however, its stems have four ridges instead of two and are also hollow. In addition, its leaves have fewer translucent glands and more dark glands. H. maculatum is native to the Old World but has also been introduced to North America.

In North America several native species may be confused with Hypericum perforatum. Hypericum anagalloides is a low-growing creeping plant with rounder leaves and fewer stamens. Hypericum boreale is a smaller plant with more delicate flowers. Hypericum canadense has smaller flowers with sepals that show between the petals. Hypericum concinnum has flowers with petals that bend backward at the tip and also has much narrower, gray-green leaves. Growing in riparian areas along rivers, Hypericum ellipticum has wider leaves with a more elliptic shape. Hypericum scouleri has leaves that are broader at the base and also thicker. All except for H. concinnum grow in environments that are generally more moist than where H. perforatum is found.

Phytochemistry
The most common active chemicals in Hypericum perforatum are hypericin and pseudohypericin (naphthodianthrones), and hyperforin (a phloroglucinol derivative). It also contains a host of essential oils, the bulk of which are sesquiterpenes. In the wild, the concentrations of any active chemicals can vary widely among individual plants and populations. }}}}

Notes:

Taxonomy
Hypericum perforatum was selected to be the type species around which the genus Hypericum is based because of its wide cosmopolitan distribution; it is the most common species of the genus in many of the areas it is found, and is one of the most widely known plants among the St John's worts in folklore and medicine. The current accepted placement of H. perforatum within its genus can be summarized as follows:

Hypericum
 * Hypericum subg. Hypericum
 * Hypericum sect. Hypericum
 * Hypericum subsect. Hypericum
 * Hypericum ser. Senanensia
 * Hypericum ser. Hypericum
 * H. attenuatum
 * H. iwate-littorale
 * H. maculatum
 * H. momoseanum
 * H. perforatum
 * H. scouleri
 * H. tetrapterum
 * H. tosaense
 * H. triquetrifolium
 * H. undulatum

Phylogeny
Hypericum perforatum has a chromosome count of 2n = 32. The likely reason for this is that the species is a hybrid between the very closely related ''H. maculatum subsp. immaculatum and H. attenuatum,'' which means it inherited sets of chromosomes from both parents and is allopolyploid. The two species almost certainly hybridized within Siberia, Russia. The equation for this hybridization is: "H. maculatum subsp. immaculatum (16) × H. attenuatum (16)×2 = H. perforatum (32)"Because of its hybrid origins, Hypericum perforatum is one of the few species within its genus that is able to further hybridize with other species, specifically those within H. ser. Hypericum. The hybrids that are descended from H. perforatum can be triploid (3 sets of chromosomes) to hexaploid (6 sets), depending on the chromosome count of the second parent species and the ploidy of the specific H. perforatum gamete that is fertilized or is fertilizing. The triploid offspring exhibit and a mix of traits from the two parents and pass them on to their offspring; the tetraploids also have a mix of traits, but often do not pass on the traits of both parents; the pentaploids are rarely distinguishable from H. perforatum. Because of this, after many generations of hybridization a wide range of traits on a spectrum between the two hybridizing species can be observed in the wild.

Etymology and common names
The genus name Hypericum is possibly derived from the Greek words hyper (above) and eikon (picture), in reference to the tradition of hanging the plant over religious icons in the home. The specific epithet perforatum is Latin and refers to the perforated appearance of the plant's leaves.

The common name St John's wort comes from the fact that its flowers and buds were commonly harvested at the time of the Midsummer festival, which was later Christianized as St John's Feast Day on 24 June. It was believed that harvesting the flower at this time made its healing and magical powers more potent. The herb would be hung on house and stall doors on St John's Feast Day to ward off evil spirits and to safeguard against harm and sickness to people and livestock. In other traditions it was burned in bonfires for the protection of crops along with other herbs believed to be magical. Because of its supposed potency in warding off spirits, the plant was also known as fuga daemonum (loosely "demon-flight"). Many other similarly fanciful names have been used for it including devil's scourge, Lord God's wonder plant, and witch's herb. In medieval Kent it was called herbe Ion (Ion in this case referring to "John") as recorded in the poem The Feate of Gardening. Other local names for Hypericum perforatum include balm of the warrior's wound in Somerset, penny John in Norfolk, rosin rose in Yorkshire, and touch-and-heal in Northern Ireland. Locally in the United States, it may also be referred to as Tipton-weed, goatweed, or Klamath weed.

In the 21st century, any species of the genus Hypericum can be referred to as St John's wort. Therefore, it is more accurate to call Hypericum perforatum the common St John's wort or perforate St John's wort.

History
Hypericum perforatum has been known and used since at least the first century. Pedanius Dioscorides, an early pharmacologist, referred to either it or H. empetrifolium as akuron. The species was first formally described by Carl Linnaeus in the second tome of Species Plantarum in 1753. In it, he gave the following brief description that would serve as the foundation for all subsequent identification of the species:

Linnaeus also noted the species' habitat in the "meadows of Europe" and gave a short account of previous mentions of the plant.

While Linnaeus' taxonomic priority for this species is not in question, there are a number of botanical synonyms that were published in the early years of formal botanical nomenclature. Gaterau published Description des plantes qui croissent aux environs de Montauban in 1789 which described and called the species Hypericum officinale, a name now considered to be illegitimate under the principle of priority. Likewise, the name Hypericum officinarum by Heinrich Johann Nepomuk von Crantz in 1763 also postdated Linnaeus' 1753 naming and description and is considered invalid.

Subdivision
Hypericum perforatum exhibits a great deal of variability in its appearance across its distribution. Thus, determining the exact nature of its infraspecific taxa is difficult because of the many intermediate forms that exist.
 * H. perforatum subspecies perforatum Stjep.-Vesel. is the type form of the species. It is distributed from the origin of the species in Siberia, west to central Europe, and east to northern Mongolia. The base changes as the plant grows from round to a broad wedge shape, and the seed capsule vittae are present throughout the plant's life cycle and are almost always narrow.
 * H. perforatum variety angustifolium DC. is a variety of the species that is found in drier climates within the range of ssp. perforatum. It has leaves that look more like those of ssp. veronense, but they have leaf stalks; the glands on the seed capsule are also distinct.
 * H. perforatum var. humile Stranski can be found in parts of the southern Balkans. These plants possess smaller, more ring-shaped leaves and the seed capsules have flattish vesicles on their surface. These appear to be adaptations of ssp. perforatum in response to the mountainous habitats of the region.
 * H. perforatum ssp. songaricum is likely the most primitive after ssp. perforatum. Previously described as a variety by Karl Koch, Norman Robson elevated the taxon to subspecies in his monograph of the genus. The leaves are sessile and have a heart-shaped base that partially surrounds the stem.
 * H. perforatum var. gracile has smaller leaves and is found in western Kazakhstan, southern Russia, and southern Ukraine. In the drier areas of this range the variety exhibits a dull grey-green color on the underside of its leaves.
 * H. perforatum ssp. veronense can be found in the Caucasus, across the Middle East to Tajikistan, and along North Africa to Macaronesia. These plants have narrower leaves and display diagonal vittae on the seed capsules. Where it meets the distribution of ssp. perforatum the two subspecies hybridize regularly.
 * H. perforatum var. ellipticum retains the diagonal vittae of the subspecies but the leaves are not as narrow. The variety is distributed in areas with greater moisture such as in the mountainous areas of Turkmenistan.
 * H. perforatum ssp. chinense is found across most of China and was introduced into Japan (under the synonym H. foliosissimum Koidz. ). Both its leaves and flowers are smaller, and the flower clusters are smaller and more crowded on the ends of longer branches.

Ecology
H. perforatum is native to temperate parts of Europe and Asia, but has spread to temperate regions worldwide as an invasive weed.

Distribution
Hypericum perforatum is thought to be native to every nation in Europe and is only absent from the far north such as north European Russia and Svalbard. It grows in parts of North Africa and is native to Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Sudan.

In the Arabian Peninsula it only grows in parts of Saudi Arabia. It is present and native to all of the Western Asia phytogeographic region from the Aegean Islands and Turkey to Israel and Palestine in the west to Afghanistan in the east, only being absent from the Sinai Peninsula. Just to the east of this area it is also native to Pakistan and the western Himalaya region of India.

In the temperate parts of Asia, Hypericum perforatum is mostly absent from Siberia with the exception of Western Siberia, the Altai Region, and the warmest parts of Krasnoyarsk Krai. It has also been introduced to Irkutsk and Buryatia. It is a native part of the flora of Central Asia, growing in all the former Soviet republics. It also is known in almost every part of the Caucasus. In China it is native to Xinjiang (western China), central China, and southern China, but not to Inner Mongolia, Manchuria, or Tibet. In the far east of Asia it has been introduced to Primorye in Russia, Korea, and Japan.

In North America it is found in all of the continental US states except for Utah, Arizona, Florida, and Alabama. It has also been introduced to the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and the maritime provinces besides Labrador. It has also been introduced to Hawaii, Cuba, and Haiti.

In South America it is found in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, the Juan Fernández Islands, and the more temperate parts of Brazil in the southeast. In the southern parts of Africa it has become established in South Africa, Lesotho, and Réunion. In Australia it is now found in the states of South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia. It has also been introduced to both the North and South Islands of New Zealand.

Habitat
The species can be found in a variety of habitats including open woods, meadows, grasslands, steppe, riverbanks, and stony or grassy hillsides and roadsides. It prefers dry habitats or areas with strong drainage. The species thrives in areas with at least 760 mm of rainfall per year; however, its distribution is restricted by temperatures too low for seed germination or seedling survival: an absolute minimum of −3°C or an annual average of 9°C. Altitudes greater than 1500 m, rainfall less than 500 mm, and daily mean temperatures greater than 24 C are also considered limiting thresholds.

Reproduction
St John's wort reproduces both vegetatively and sexually. Depending on environmental and climatic conditions, and the age of the plant, St John's wort will alter the way it grows to promote survival. Summer rains are particularly effective in allowing the plant to grow vegetatively, following defoliation by insects or grazing. St John's wort may also produce viable seeds without fertilization. Its seeds can persist for decades while lying dormant underground in an ecosystem's soil seed bank, germinating after they are disturbed.

Diseases
H. perforatum is affected by phytoplasma diseases, and when infected with Candidatus phytoplasma fraxini it shows visible symptoms, including yellowing and deformities called witch's broom. Its chemical profile is also altered: naphthodianthrone, flavonoid, amentoflavone, and pseudohypericin levels are reduced; chlorogenic acid levels are increased. Additionally, phytoplasma diseases greatly reduce the essential oil yield of the plant.

Dieback among populations of St John's wort is also caused by fungal anthracnose, such as Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. This fungus causes the stems to lose their bark (girdling) and turn brown, and dries the aboveground parts of the plant. The infection often kills the plant within the first year of its growth, or reduces productivity over a three-year deterioration.

Herbivores
Though Hypericum perforatum is generally avoided by mammalian herbivores, a number of insects are dependent on it and its close relatives as a food source. Chrysolina quadrigemina and C. hyperici are two beetle species that feed on plants from the genus Hypericum, including H. perforatum. Chrysolina quadrigemina can be colored metallic blue, purple, green, or bronze and is better adapted to warm and dry climates; Chrysolina hyperici is consistently smaller, metallic green, and tends to live in areas with wetter and cooler conditions. Another Hyericum specialist beetle is Agrilus hyperici, the St John's wort root borer, whose larvae feed on the roots of H. perforatum while the adults feed on the foliage.

A moth, Aplocera plagiata, feeds heavily upon the leaves of H. perforatum as a caterpillar and is commonly known as the common St John's wort inchworm. As adults, they are a small moth with gray wings and dark gray bands. Another moth that feeds upon H. perforatum is Euspilapteryx auroguttella. Their caterpillars start by mining the inside of the leaves and later roll the leaves into cigar shapes to feed in greater safety. Agonopterix hypericella is another small (17 mm) gray moth that exclusively feeds upon Hypericum.

Zeuxidiplosis giardi, the common St. Johnswort gall midge, is a small (3 mm) fly that eats H. perforatum while developing. The larvae feed upon leaf buds, which causes the plant to form a round growth called a gall where the developing insect can feed, is protected, and pupates into a mature adult.

Toxicity
Hypericum perforatum is toxic to numerous domestic animals such as cows, sheep, and horses. When these animals come into contact with the plant, usually through grazing, they develop serious symptoms. The first signs are reddening of the skin accompanied by swelling, which is followed by necrosis and sloughing of the skin. Non-pigmented, white skin is most affected by the poisoning, such as the nose and ears of certain breeds of sheep. Young animals are more susceptible to H. perforatum poisoning, and the plant is most toxic in spring (when it is the most palatable to herbivores) and retains its toxic effects when dried in hay. Additionally, affected animals will become highly photosensitive, and exposure to sunlight can exacerbate their symptoms. As such, they should be moved to a dark area; administering of antihistamines or anti-inflammatory medicines may also help alleviate the symptoms.

Invasiveness
Although H. perforatum is grown commercially in some regions of southeast Europe, it is listed as a noxious weed in more than twenty countries and has introduced populations in South and North America, India, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa. In pastures, St John's wort acts as both a toxic and invasive weed. It replaces native plant communities and forage vegetation to the extent of making productive land nonviable or becoming an invasive species in natural habitats and ecosystems.

Effective herbicides for control of Hypericum perforatum include 2,4-D, picloram, metsulfuron, and glyphosate. Insect herbivores have also been introduced as biocontrol agents in areas outside their native range. Some of the most widely used are Chrysolina quadrigemina, Chrysolina hyperici, Agrilus hyperici, Aplocera plagiata, and Zeuxidiplosis giardi.

Traditional medicine
Common St John's wort has been used in herbalism for centuries. It was thought to have medical properties in classical antiquity and was a standard component of ancient concoctions called theriacs, from the Mithridate of Aulus Cornelius Celsus' De Medicina (c. 30 CE) to the Venice treacle of d'Amsterdammer Apotheek in 1686. One folk use included the oily extract known as St John's oil, a red, oily liquid extracted from H. perforatum that may have been a treatment for wounds by the Knights Hospitaller, the Order of St John. Another part of the plant that is used is the dried flower structure, which is turned into a product known as "herba hyperici" by crushing.

Antidepressant
Some studies and research reviews have supported the efficacy of St John's wort as a treatment for depression in humans. A 2015 meta-analysis review concluded that it has superior efficacy to placebo in treating depression, is as effective as standard antidepressant pharmaceuticals for treating depression, and has fewer adverse effects than other antidepressants. The authors concluded that it is difficult to assign a place for St John's wort in the treatment of depression owing to limitations in the available evidence base, including large variations in efficacy seen in trials performed in German-speaking countries relative to other countries. A 2008 Cochrane review of 29 clinical trials concluded that it was superior to placebo in patients with major depression, as effective as standard antidepressants and had fewer side-effects. A 2016 review noted that use of St John's wort for mild and moderate depression was better than placebo for improving depression symptoms, and comparable to antidepressant medication. A 2017 meta-analysis found that St John's wort had comparable efficacy and safety to SSRIs for mild-to-moderate depression and a lower discontinuation rate. According to the United States National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, St John's wort appears to be more effective than placebo and as effective as standard antidepressant medications for mild and moderate depression, and that it is uncertain whether this is true for severe depression or for longer than 12 weeks.

In the United States, St John's wort is considered a dietary supplement by the FDA, and is not regulated by the same standards as a prescription drug. In China, St John's wort combined with Eleutherococcus senticosus is sold as an antidepressant under the name Shūgān Jiěyù Jiāonáng, according to the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China. The pharmacopoeia states that it is used "for mild to moderate unipolar depression". In some European nations, the use of Hypericum perforatum for medicinal purposes is restricted because of its classification as a drug.

Interactions and side effects
St John's wort can interfere (in potentially life-endangering ways) with the effects of prescription and over-the-counter drugs. It mainly does this by increasing CYP3A4 and CYP2C9 enzymes in the liver, leading to faster conversion of drugs. The increase in these enzymes have been found to be caused by high hyperforin content; consumption of St John's wort products with minimal hyperforin causes fewer side effects and less interference. However, the concentration of St John's wort's constituent chemicals (including hyperforin) can vary widely between different products, and their dosage may not be properly marked on packaging. In particular, St John's wort products can reduce the effectiveness of medicines like oral contraceptives, heart medications, HIV drugs, cancer medications, and some anticoagulants. The most common side effects of St John's wort products are stomach pain, fatigue, and restlessness. Other more rare effects include photosensitivity and skin irritation, breakthrough bleeding when taking oral contraceptives, and decreased effectiveness of immunosuppressants in those who have had organ transplants.

title: Hypericum perforatum