Flora of Israel | Jordan Tamarisk

Tamarix jordanis, Jordan Tamarisk,
طرفه، أثل ,אשל הירדן


Scientific name:		Tamarix jordanis Boiss.
Common name:		Jordan Tamarisk
Hebrew name:		אשל הירדן
Arabic name:		طرفه، أثل
Family:		Tamaricaceae, אשליים

_{Location: Hula Nature Reserve}


Life form:		Tree
Stems:		3-6 meter high, brown-red bark
Leaves:		Alternate, scale
Flowers:		White
Fruits / pods:		Capsule
Flowering Period:		March, April, May, June, July, August
Habitat:		Humid habitats
Distribution:		Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts
Chorotype:		Mediterranean
Summer shedding:		Perennating

_{Location: Hula Nature Reserve}
Derivation of the botanical name:

Tamarix, the Latin name for this plant derived from the Tamaris River in Spain.

jordanis, Jordan.
The Hebrew name:אשל, eshel, ʾḗšel, Akkadian: ašlu; Ugaritic: Eshel; Aramaic אַתְלָא‎, (atla); Arabic أَثْل‎ (ʾaṯl).

The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810 – 1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician.

H.B.Tristram (11 May 1822 – 8 March 1906) , The Natural History of the Bible: “Abraham planted a grove (eshel) in Beersheba” (Gen.XXI.33): “Saul abode in Gibeah under a tree (eshel) at Jabesh” (I Sam. XXXI.13); but, in 1 Chron. X.12, it is called ‘elah,’ an oak. Critics are agreed that ‘eshel‘ signifies some particular tree, and the best authorities identify it with the Arabic asal, the Tamarisk tree.
No less than seven species of Tamarisk are found in Palestine, and several of them in great abundance.”