Flowers in Israel – ישראל פרחים תמונות

The myrtle, Myrtus communis, is a shrub with evergreen leaves. The small white flowers are produced in the middle of the summer. The fruit is a small, black berry, resembling a blueberry and is edible but seldom eaten. The entire plant contains a fragrant oil. In Hebrew myrtle is called “hadas” and is one of the Four Species (arba’ah minim–ארבעת המינים) used in a special ceremony during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles).

The first reference of the Myrtle in the Bible is in Nehemiah 8:15 in regard to the celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles:” . . . and they should proclaim this word and spread it throughout their towns and in Jerusalem. ‘Go out into the hill country and bring back branches from olive and wild olive trees, and from myrtles, palms and shade trees, to make booths as it is written.’

Cercis siliquastrum or “Judas Tree” is a type of redbud (fabaceae).
In early spring it is covered with a profusion of magenta pink flowers, which appear before the leaves.
The name “Judas Tree” came from the story of Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Christ. It is said when he hung himself on one of these trees, the flowers turned from white to red because of his blood and the tree’s shame.

Alkanna tinctoria is also known as orchanet, dyer’s bugloss, Spanish bugloss or bugloss of Languedoc. Its name comes from the Spanish word alcana, from Arabic al-hena, after Henna (Lawsonia inermis lythraceae) . The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs)
Alkanna tuberculata naturally grows in maritime sands, on the shores of the the eastern part of the Mediterranean. It has a dark red root of blackish appearance externally but inside showing a blue-red meat, surrounding a whitish core.

A red dye is obtained from the roots called Alkannin and used today as a food colouring. It is used by pharmacists as well as in perfumes and to stain wood or marble. It can make wood look like rosewood or mahogany. The dye is also used in thermometers and as a litmus to test for acids and alkalines.

Alkannin is used in folk medicine where it is claimed to possess, among other properties, wound healing and anti-inflammatory activity. Alkannin is a pharmaceutical substance with a wide spectrum of biological properties.

The flora of Israel is mentioned many times in the Bible. The Bible is full with illustrations, indicating examples from agriculture and natural vegetation.
King Solomon in Eccelestiastes (2,5-6) described his wealth, he said: “I made me gardens and orchards, and planted trees in them of all kind of fruits. I made myself pools of water to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees.” And in the Song of Songs (2:1–2) the shepherd lover sings to his bride: “I am the rose of Sharon (most probably the Sharon tulip – Tulipa agenensis subsp. sharonensis), and the lily of the valleys (probably Narcissus tazetta). As the lily among thorns (Lilium candidum), so is my love among the daughters.”

The Song of Songs is a poem about love. The main speakers are a man, King Solomon, who describes himself as a shepherd, a man whose job is to look after sheep and the woman, whom he loves, is called ‘the Shulamite’.Solomon describes the start of spring (Song of Songs 2:10–13):My beloved spoke and said to me, “Arise, my darling,my beautiful one, come with me.See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come,the cooing of doves is heard in our land.

The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.”

H.B.Tristram (Nat. Hist. of the Bible, 1882) says: ” Certainly if, in the wondrous richness of bloom which characterizes the land of Israel in spring, any one plant can claim pre-eminence, it is the anemone, the most natural flower for our Lord to pluck and seize upon as an illustration, whether walking in the fields or sitting on the hill-side.”

Israel has probably been one of the most travelled lands since antiquity. Traversed by travelers, explorers, conquerors, crusaders and pilgrims, many native Israeli plants have been transferred to Europe and introduced into cultivation. Examples are Anemone coronaria, Ranunculus asiaticus, Cyclamen persicum, Hyacinthus orientalis, Narcissus tazetta, Lilium candidum and several tulips. Those are some of the species that were relatively easy to domesticate.

Anemones, tulips, Asiatic ranunculi, and poppies, in that order, which spans the whole of spring, are the red showy flowers or the floral glories of Israel.
M. Zohary believes these to be the spring flowers (Heb. nitzanim) of Song of Songs 2:12.” These flowers have a similar appearance in shape and colour and from a distance they may easily be confused.

Anemone (Anemone coronaria) is traditionally identified as the `lily of the field’. It is a widespread herbaceous perennial plant growing to 20-40 cm tall (rarely to 60 cm), with a basal rosette of a few leaves, the leaves with three leaflets, each leaflet deeply lobed. The flowers are borne singly on a tall stem with a whorl of small leaves just below the flower; the flower is 3-8 cm diameter, with 5-8 red, white or blue petal-like sepals. Recent research in Israel has shown that there is a genetic basis for this variation which explains for the dominance of a certain colour in a particular region. Around Jerusalem, for instance, the red shape is more frequent than the blue, while on the basalt slopes north the Sea of Galilee the hillside are speckled with the blue and white flowers.
The petals of the Anemone are usually nectariferous near the base, and in Ranunculus there is a flap of tissue in this position, a presence of reflexed sepals. The Asiatic Ranunculus, or buttercup (Ranunculus asiaticus), is also red-flowered.
Tulipa agenensis, Tulipa Montana (mountain tulip) and Tulipa Sharonensis.Song of Solomon 2:2 Like a lily among thorns is my darling among the maidens. A tulip is a flower with 5 petals, all intertwining, and without which, it would not make up a complete flower.Its narrow, grey-green leaves are usually crinkled along the edges.

Corn poppies (Papaver rhoeas, Papaver subpiriforme etc.) are annuals inhabiting disturbed ground and their seeds are in capsules, unlike the anemone and ranunculus, which are perennials and have their seeds in separate nutlets. Pheasant’s eye (Adonis cupaniana, A. aleppica) are also annuals with scarlet flowers, but with nutlets like the anemone.

The winter solstice (from Latin sol (sun) + stet (standing) is the date of the shortest day, when the sun appears to be at its most southerly. Both hunter-gatherers and farming communities relied on stored food to see them through the long winters, for many cultures the return of the longer days meant that the plenty of spring was approaching and a reason to celebrate.

The ancients were certainly aware of the movement of the sun. The Jewish Festival of Lights, Hanukkah (also Chanukkah), is also linked to the solstice, being held on the 25th Kislev, three days before the new moon closest to the solstice. The celebration commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over Antiochus Epiphanes and the rededication of the Temple.

The ancient Egyptians celebrated the rebirth of Osiris on December 21st with his symbolic burial and rebirth as an infant at midnight, the priests bringing the image of a child out of his ‘burial chamber’. The ancient Egyptians considered the palm tree to symbolize resurrection. They decorated their homes with its branches during the winter solstice.The ancient Greeks’ celebration followed the Egyptian model, with somewhat more in the way of bloodshed, a man being torn apart by women, representing the end of the harvest god Dionysos, with the promise of rebirth through the offspring of one of the women. The human sacrifice was later replaced with a goat, the women becoming mourners.Rome originally had several celebrations near this time, including the Saturnalia on 17th December. By the year 50 BCE, the festival ran until the 23rd. This was supplemented by many other feasts, including the birth of gods and demigods such as Mithras, Apollo and Hercules. These different feasts were later merged by the Emperor Aurelian into the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun (Dies Natalis Invicti Solis), celebrated on 25th December.

The Druids held rituals in their sacred groves and performed fertility rites involving mistletoe, Germanic tribes burned their Yule logs and decorated their homes with evergreens, and Scandanavians lit bonfires and held vigils.. Trees were viewed as symbolizing eternal life. The trees joined holly, mistletoe, the wassail bowl and the Yule log as symbols of the season. All predated Christianity. Many of these rituals are now associated with the ‘Christian’ festival we know as Christmas, indeed the date was chosen by the Roman church when they ‘Christianised’ the festival of Saturnalia.Saturnalia was the feast at which the Romans commemorated the dedication of the temple of the god Saturn, which took place on 17 December. Over the years, it expanded to a whole week, up to 23 December. The Romans often cut down evergreens and decorated their “trees with bits of metal and replicas of their god, Bacchus [a fertility god]. They also placed 12 candles on the tree in honor of their sun god” and decorated them to pay homage to Saturn, the god of farming. The Romans also practiced many traditions similar to Christmas; though the “Christmas tree” itself is a later development in the celebration of Christmas. In the Roman calendar the Winter Solstice fell in this period; in imperial times that event was celebrated in honour of Sol Invictus and put on 25 December by emperor Aurelian in 274, so after the Saturnalia.

There is one theory that says that the Aleppo pine is the original Christmas tree. The Aleppo pine, also known as Jerusalem pine, is native to the Mediterranean region. It is a small to medium-size tree, reaching 15-25 m tall. The leaves (‘needles’) are in pairs, very slender, mostly 6-10 cm long, The cones are narrow conic, 5-10 cm long and 2-3 cm broad at the base when closed, green at first, ripening glossy red-brown when 24 months old.

Merry ChristmasVrolijk kerstfeest

חג שמח

Ammi visnaga is a member of the Apiaceae or Umbelliferae, a family of usually aromatic plants with hollow stems, including parsley, carrot, and other relatives.
Ammi visnaga is a bitter, aromatic plant that is native to the Mediterranean area of North Africa and the Middle East. The plant grows erect to a height of about 1 meter by 0.5 meters wide and bears wispy leaves, the lower leaves 1-2-pinnate; upper leaves 2-3(4)-pinnate; all leaves with linear to filiform (thread-like) segments. This plant has clusters of small white scented hermaphrodite flowers, pollinated by Insects. and tiny fruits, which are picked and dried and used in herbal medicines.This plant is self fertile, tastes like thyme, and the leaves are chewed for their flavor in some countries.

This herb is one of the oldest herbs cultivated by the ancient Egyptians. The seeds are harvested in late summer before they have fully ripened and are dried for later use.

They contain a fatty oil that includes the substance ‘khellin’ (khellin, has vasodilator and bronchodilator properties). The seeds of the Ammi visgana are diuretic and lithotripic and used in the treatment of asthma, angina, coronary arteriosclerosis and kidney stones. This traditional Arab remedy was mentioned in the Ebers papyrus (1500 BCE). In 700 BC the Indian physician Charaka writes Charaka Samhita which details over 350 herbal medicines including Ammi visnaga.

Many scholars identify the jujube as the biblical atad, mentioned in the “Parable of the trees” in the book of Judges (Judges 9:15) known as Jotham’s Parable (Hebrew: משל יותם), an allegorical story against the monarchy in recent years told on Tu B’shvat as a children’s tale. Jotham, the youngest son of Gideon and the only one left living besides Abimelech, escapes to Mount Gerizim, near Shechem and tells what has come to be known as Jotham’s Parable (Judges 9: 7-21), the story of “the trees who went forth to anoint a king over them.” The trees first appeal to the olive, ‘Be our king’ the latter refuses to be a king, asking, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and men are honored, to hold sway over the trees?’ The fig also refused, saying, “Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit to wave over the trees?” Likewise the vine: “Shall I leave my new wine which cheers God and men to wave over you?” Finally all the trees said to the Jujube (Ziziphus spina-christi, Hebrew: Atad, אטד), ‘Come and be our king’ and the Jujube, with nothing to offer but its shadow, agrees to reign, but not without making a thinly-veiled threat: ‘If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the Jujube (Atad) and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’ Judg. 9:15).

The olive, fig, vine and jujube in the parable stand for different kinds of people. The good fruits are symbols of good works. The jujube is the type of someone who does not do good uses or only does them for show and for selfish gain. The olive, fig and vine are modest and wish only to serve, but selfishness loves to rule and to be served. Fire coming out of the jujube means the burning of selfish desires. The cedar which the fire destroys stands for rational understanding. Someone who is proud or angry cannot be wise.

Yotam, the teller of the parable, is using the metaphor of the the atad to ridicule his older brother, Abimelech, who has unjustly annointed himself king, surrounded himself with yesmen and murdered all his brothers save for Yotam.

The jujube tree is common in Samaria. It can grow very large, easily providing shade for these small trees. The wild jujube growing in Israel is apparently of Sudanian origin. It is a broad-crowned, spiny tree with intertwined branches that reach nearly to ground level. Its leaves are smooth and ovate. The yellowish fruits are round in shape. They are edible, not unusual tasty and it is very much the poor relative of the olive, fig and vine, mentioned in the parable. In the past jujube fruits were commonly sold in the marketplace. In the Arava Valley, the tree is usually evergreen, but in the north it is deciduous and loses its leaves in the cold winter. The jujube grows in wet desert habitats and in riverbeds with deep soil that can store water throughout the summer. In the region between Hatzeva and Jericho, jujube is the second most common tree, after the acacia.

Its wide spreading root-system is well-known for leaching all nourishments from the soil. A farmer who wants his orchard to succeed must first uproot every jujube in the area, small saplings as well as full-grown trees. Ziziphus spina-christi is one of several candidates for Jesus’ crown of thorns, hence its name: “They dressed Him up in purple, and after twisting a crown of thorns, they put it on Him” (Mark 15:17).

It is a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil, and [date] honey. Deuteronomy 8, 8.

The Ficus carica was cultivated for its fruit some 6500 years ago. It is a dioecious species with separate male and female trees, and a symbiotic pollinator wasp (Blastophaga psenes) that is propagated inside the fruits (syconia) of male trees called capri figs. Pollination of edible figs requires fig wasps to transport pollen from Capri fig flowers. The Ficus carica is native to the region between the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Evidently many ancient civilizations were aware of the fact that Ficus carica required pollination in order to produce edible, seed-bearing fruits, a process called caprification. Aristotle (384-322BCE) described fig wasps that came out of Capri figs and penetrated the unripe female fig fruits, thus fertilizing them.

Theophrastus of Eresos (371-287 BCE) was essentially the first botanical taxonomist and some 2,300 years ago he described in details on fig caprification. In order to prevent the abortion of their embryo cultivar figs, the farmers arranged that ripe wild figs were hung in orchards of the cultivars at embryo stage, or even went so far as to interplant the early, intermediate and late cultivars (you get three crops per annum in the Mediterranean) with the appropriate wild variety. They were aware of the galls which develop in the inedible or goat-fig and were aware of the insect which came out of the ripe fruit and entered the embryo fruit, allowing it to develop to an edible fig. The flower of a fig of course, is very unusual in that it is completely enclosed within the fig itself and never seen, male flowers at the top and female below. It isfertilised by a tiny wasp which leaves the ripe fig and enters the embryo fig via a minute hole at the top, which is hidden by overlapping scales. Each species of fig has developed a symbiosis with a different wasp over the last 100 million years.

Theophrastus of Eresos (371-287 BCE) was essentially the first botanical taxonomist and some 2,300 years ago he described in details on fig caprification. In order to prevent the abortion of their embryo cultivar figs, the farmers arranged that ripe wild figs were hung in orchards of the cultivars at embryo stage, or even went so far as to interplant the early, intermediate and late cultivars (you get three crops per annum in the Mediterranean) with the appropriate wild variety. They were aware of the galls which develop in the inedible or goat-fig and were aware of the insect which came out of the ripe fruit and entered the embryo fruit, allowing it to develop to an edible fig. The flower of a fig of course, is very unusual in that it is completely enclosed within the fig itself and never seen, male flowers at the top and female below. It is fertilised by a tiny wasp which leaves the ripe fig and enters the embryo fig via a minute hole at the top, which is hidden by overlapping scales. Each species of fig has developed a symbiosis with a different wasp over the last 100 million years.

Colchicum derives from Colchis, an ancient region on the Black Sea south of the Caucasus Mountains, now mostly the western part of Georgia.

Steven’s Meadow saffron, in Hebrew: Stavanit HaYoreh,סתוונית היורה (Hayoreh = first rain in season), florescence in October, November and December. It is a geophyte that belongs to the Lily family (Liliaceae) along with the Lilies, Tulips, and Hyacinths. The Spring Flowering Crocus, in contrast, is a member of the Iris Family (Iridaceae) along with the Iris and Gladiolus.

Native to West Asia and part of the Mediterranean coast, its natural environment is hard rock outcrops in the Mediterranean territory. The Colchicum stevenii is just one species of about 70 in the genus Colchicum. The leaves (linear) and flower appear the same time. The flower is 4-6 cm. large and consists of 6 petals, 6 anthers and three slightly twisted styles tipped with an inconspicuous yellow tipped stigma. In most cases they grow in bundles of 2-11 flowers.

Colchicum species contain Colchicine, originally used to treat rheumatic complaints and especially gout, it was also prescribed for its cathartic and emetic effects. Its present medicinal use is mainly in the treatment of gout; as well, it is being investigated for its potential use as an anti-cancer drug.

Ricinus is the classical Latin name for this plant and also the Latin name for tick. The seeds of this plant resemble the bodies of ticks, and Linnaeus used this feature as a basis for the genus name of this plant. Communis is Latin for common or general. The Castor-Oil Plant is the only member of the genus Ricinus and it has no immediate relatives and is native only to Africa. The seed is also called Castor bean, even though it is not a bean.

The flowers of the Castor-Oil Plant are monoecious, meaning having both the male and female reproductive organs on the same plant and appear in clusters, with the male white blossoms below and the pink female blossoms above.
The flowers are relatively unimposing, lack petals and rely on the wind for pollination. Male flowers senesce shortly after shedding their pollen, while the female flowers develop capsules covered with soft spines. The capsules open at maturity, revealing 3 big seeds that are a mosaic of muted black, gray, brown, yellow-brown, maroon and white colors. It is the seeds of the Castor-Oil plants that have historically, and currently, been of interest. About 50% of the weight of the seeds is made of Castor Oil (שמן קיק).

Castor oil and its by-products have applications in the manufacturing of soaps, lubricants, hydraulic and brake fluids paints, dyes, coatings, inks, cold resistant plastics, waxes and polishes, nylon, pharmaceuticals and perfumes. In 1909 Castrol (that takes its name from castor oil), originally named the Wakefield Oil Company, began production of a new automotive lubricant named “Castrol” (a contraction of castor oil, from which it was made).

Castor-Oil plant was known to Herodotus (484 BC – ca.425 BC), who calls it Kiki, and states: The Egyptians who live in the marshes use for the anointing of their bodies an oil made from the fruit of the sillicyprium, which is known among them by the name of “kiki.” To obtain this they plant the sillicyprium (which grows wild in Greece) along the banks of the rivers and by the sides of the lakes, where it produces fruit in great abundance, but with a very disagreeable smell. This fruit is gathered, and then bruised and pressed, or else boiled down after roasting: the liquid which comes from it is collected and is found to be unctuous, and as well suited as olive-oil for lamps, only that it gives out an unpleasant odour.

The Castor-Oil plant is in the Book of Jonah (Jonah 4:6,7,9,10): “Now the LORD God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort…” The Talmudists make mention of the “oil of kik”, which Resh Lakish (3rd century) says is the “kikajon” of Jonah and which is the same that the Arabians call “alcheroa” or “alcherva”,

Strabo (63/64 BCE-c.24CE) also mentions in rural Egypt the use of oil from a plant called kiki. (The Geography of Strabo, Book XVII Chapter 2): …and kiki is a kind of fruit sown in the fields, from which oil is pressed, which is used not only in lamps by almost all the people in the country, but also for anointing the body by the poorer classes and those who do the heavier labour, both men and women.

Theophrastus (370-285 BCE), and Dioscorides (c.40-c.90), in the first century, describe the plant and Pliny (23-79) also speaks of it as a drastic purgative.

Nigella is probably native to western
Asia where it grows both wild and cultivated. Nearly all names of nigella contain an element of black: in Arabic kamun aswad, “Al-habbat ul Sawda”; in German Schwarzkümmel; in Latin Nigella (niger). In some English sources Nigella arvensis is called field black cumin (also known as wild black cumin, oat or horse black cumin), and grows just 30-45 cm. tall. Its upright, hairless stem boasts bush-like branches with alternating serrated leaves and apical blossoms bearing a light-blue five-leaved flower cup rimmed with greenish strips. The three to five leaves of the seed capsule reach halfway up the stem and are long with little horns. The deep black, sharp-cornered seed grains are used as a spice, they have a rough surface and an oily white interior. They are roughly triangulate, 1 1/2 – 3 mm. long and similar to onion seeds. Nigella seeds have little aroma, but when ground or chewed they develop a vaguely oregano-like scent. The taste is fragrant and slightly bitter.

Nigella has been traced back more than 3,000 years to the kingdom of the Assyrians and ancient Egyptians and used since antiquity by Asian herbalists and pharmacists. A bottle of black cumin oil was found in the tomb of King Tutankhamun, The Romans used it for culinary purposes; in the Middle East nigella is added to bread dough and in Israel it becomes more and more popular.

The earliest written reference to black cumin is found in the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 28: 25, 27).

25.When he has leveled the surface, does he not sow caraway and scatter cumin? Does he not plant wheat in its place, barley in its plot, and spelt in its field. Caraway is not threshed with a sledge, nor is a cartwheel rolled over cumin; caraway is beaten out with a rod, and cumin with a stick.
Easton’s bible dictionary clarifies that the Hebrew word for black cumin, qetsach, keh’-tsakh, kezah, refers to without doubt Nigella sativa.

Pliny the Elder (23-79) crushed black seeds, mixed them with vinegar and honey, and applied the paste to snake bites and scorpion stings.

Pedanius Dioscorides (c. 40-90) used black cumin seeds to treat headaches and toothaches.

Narrated Abu Huraira (d.678): I heard Allah’s Apostle saying, “There is healing in Black Cumin for all diseases except death.” The usage and popularity of black seed is widely known as a “remedy of the Prophet”. The Prophet’s Medicine” is a collection of Hadith (collection of Islamic traditions containing sayings of the prophet Muhammad) that instruct Muslims on the subject of sickness or medical treatment.

The seeds are rich in sterols, especially beta-sitosterol, which is known to have anti carcinogenic activity. The seeds are also known to repel certain insects and can be used in the same way as mothballs.