Flowers in Israel

Job 30:4 – Who pluck mallow by the bushes, And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.

Althea derives from the Greek word ‘altho’ to cure’ and the family name Malvaceae is one of the many species of flowering plants that contains the genus Malva, the mallow genus, and its relatives, including the marshmallow plant (Althaea officinalis).

The two species that are common in Israel are the Alcea setosa and the Alcea dissecta. The Alcea setosa is widespread in the Mediterranean mountainous open areas. Rare in Judea and Samaria, found quite in the Carmel and Lower-Galilee. In Upper Galilee it is replaced by the Alcea dissecta. This plant is specific near the Banias and the Dan and widespread in the Dan Valley and Upper- Galilee and it stands out alongside the road in spring and the beginning of summer.Althaea is a perennial plant growing to 150-200cm tall, with broad, rounded, palmate lobed leaves with 3-7 lobes and numerous pink flowers, on the erect central stem. The corolla is 15 to 20 cm in diameter.

The Sages wrote about the Altheae in general.Hippocrates (c.460BCE-c.377BCE) Greek physician and father of modern medicine, described the value of althea in the treatment of wounds.Theophrastus (c. 372-286 BC), the successor of Aristotle in the Peripatetic school, reported that it was taken in sweet wine for coughs.Dioscorides (c.40-c.90CE), another Greek physician a few centuries later, prescribed a vinegar infusion as a cure for toothaches and recommended a preparation of the seeds to soothe insect stings.Horace (65-8 BC), Roman poet and satirist, mentions it in reference to his own diet, which he describes as very simple: “Me pascunt olivae, me cichorea, me malvae” (“As for me, olives, endives, and mallows provide sustenance.”)Pliny (23-79) said: ‘Whosoever shall take a spoonful of the Mallows shall that day be free from all diseases that may come to him.’It is cultivated extensively in Europe for medicinal purposes, acting as a demulcent. In 812, Charlemagne enjoined its culture in France.

James Burnett, Lord Monboddo (1714 -1799), a Scottish judge, scholar of language evolution and philosopher, describes his translation of an ancient epigram that demonstrates malva was planted upon the graves of the ancients, stemming from the belief that the dead could feed on such perfect plants.

Frank Lloyd Wright designed and built a house between 1919 and 1921 in LA called Hollyhock House for oil heiress Aline Barnsdall.The house takes its name from the favorite flower of Aline Barnsdall. At her request, hollyhocks were incorporated into the decorative program of the house, and stylized representations of the flower may be found on the roofline, walls, columns planters and furniture.
And not to forget Marshmallow crème, the real marshmallows, made the traditional way, with powdered marshmallow root, egg whites, cane sugar, and vanilla extract. The traditional recipe of the confection used an extract from the mucilaginous root of the marshmallow plant, the Althaea officinalis, instead of gelatin. The root extract (halawa extract) is also used to make a Middle Eastern snack called halva (חלבה), very popular in Israel and can be found in almost every grocery store.The Arabic word halwa is a generic term for candy, or “sweetmeat” in literal translation and comes from the Arabic word halwa; the root word is hilwa meaning sweet. The root word is also the basis for the Arabic words for “good” (hala’) and “very sweet” (hali). 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.

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.

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.

In Israel the Urginea maritime grows in the Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands Semi-steppe shrublands, Shrub-steppes, Deserts and extreme deserts, and Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon. They grow only in natural habitats.

The Galilee have been devastated by fire and what was left were the charred trunks of pine trees and some remains of bushes. Amid this desolation are rising gleaming white, curving spikes of sea squills. It is a fantastic miracle of life after death. This perennial monocotyledon grows from enormous bulbs (10-15 cm), frequently white, or red and weighing more than 1 kg. It has a strange life cycle: It starts producing a cluster of leaves in late Autumn which remain until the end of Spring. The leaves are basal, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 10-35 x 2-7 cm, glabrous and margin smooth. In the hot and dry months of May and June the leaves dry up, and in August the bulb shoot up a tall flowering stem with flowers from the end of August till the end of October. Blossoming is on a long leafless stem reaching 60 cm to 1.5 m high and carrying small flowers from the middle upwards. The star shaped flower is made up of 6 petals and when the flower expires, the petals do not fall but close up again and resume a cylindrical structure similar to the buds. The closed petals protect the growing fruit capsule. When the fruit is ripe it splits open to release its black winged seeds. There are about 25 seed per capsule. It is one of the ‘purest’ of the white flowers. Fruits are produced by the end of October. Thus the leaves and
the flowers are never seen together.

The Egyptians call the plant “Ein Sit”, the god who resists the sun, since the plant only blooms in autumn. According to tradition, Urginea maritima is planted in the vicinity of Arab graves, to protect them. The use of white flowers as cemeteries plants reflects an old European influence and almost the same species are used. Most of the trees and shrubs that are planted in Muslim cemeteries in Israel have the same use in ancient as well in modern European cultures. Today the most common plants in new cemeteries are Narcissus tazetta and Urginea maritima. Aromatic herbs (especially Salvia fruticosa and Rosmarinus officinalis) and Cupressus sempervirens are two other groups of cemetery plants. The Bedouin use the bulb of the plant to make poison to kill mice and they believe that whenever there is an abundance of Urginea maritima flowers, there will be a rainy winter.

The ancient Romans and Greeks called
the Sea squills Scilla. They were often mentioned as a medicine. Theophrastus, a Greek philosopher and botanist, wrote in about 340 BC of onions (Allium), anemones, crocus, cyclamen, grape hyacinths (Muscari), lilies, narcissus, and squills (Scilla).

The plant has been subjected to severe uprooting and collection for pharmaceutical companies. What was used are the dried fleshy scales of the bulb. The scales are odourless or with a slight odour, and a mucilagenous, bitter acrid and disagreable taste. The red bulb contains the rat poison “scilliroside”, whilst the white bulb is used as a cardiotonic. The most important medical property of the Urginea maritime is its ability to stimulate heart activity. Oxymel of Urginea maritime, used for coughs, was invented by Pythagoras (c.582-c.507 BCE). Pythagoras highly esteemed the medicinal properties of the sea onion, and he is said to have written an entire volume on the subject.
It is considered to be the Sea Onion referred to by Homer (9th Century BCE). Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE) was acquainted with the Urginea maritime. Dioscorides (c.40-90 CE) describes the different varieties of the bulb and the method of making vinegar of it.

The gundelia, is an edible spiny, thistle-like flowering plant, a member of the Aster family (Asteracea or Compositae). A member of this genus, tumbleweed Gundelia tournefortii, Galgal came under the spotlights in 1998, when its pollen grains were found on the Shroud of Turin. In modern Hebrew it is called Akuvit ha-galgal.” This name combines the Talmudic name for the plant (akkub), which survives in the modern Arabic name for the plant, with the Biblical Galgal. This species native to semi-desert areas of Jerusalem and the Near East is related to thistles and artichokes.

Some Bible scholars think that the tumbleweed of Psalm 83: 14 (“Make them like tumbleweed, O my God, like galgal before the wind”) is akoub.
By the metaphor of galgal, the Psalmist is asking the Lord to make Israel’s enemies like galgal: although they look frightening, their base is weak. The whole plant can be driven by the wind and it will be gone.The use of this plant is apparently quite old, being mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud and the Bible. This is the plant called silybum by Dioscorides. Gundelia tournefortii blooms in Israel from February (in the semi-desert warm parts) to May (in Jerusalem). Some gather these plants in the wild for culinary purposes.
In March akoub plants are cut at the base and the prickles removed. The edible parts are the leaves, stems, roots, and undeveloped flower buds, the last mentioned being the most popular. The soft white part of the young leaves, the part between the root and the soil surface, is used by Bedouin and Arabs to make akkub soup. The most popular preparation for gundelia in the Palestinian Arab villages of northern Israel is one where the heads are cleaned and covered with a chopped meat mixture, they are fried in olive oil and then simmered in a lemony broth. The plant tastes like a cross between asparagus and artichoke. By mid-May, the akoub stem has separated from the root, allowing the entire plant to be carried by the wind. The whole plant is round—so that it can roll like a ball. When the seeds of the dead fruit are ready to be dispersed, the base of the stem is disconnected from the thick root by means of an especially weak tissue which develops at just the right time. The plant then rolls, driven by the wind, dispersing its seeds on steppe and field. (Galgal also means wheel in Hebrew; the plant’s name probably derived from its habit of rolling across the fields like a wheel).
Just before the round plant disconnects from the root, the plant appears frightening indeed—full of thistles and strong and stable looking. In fact the base of the plant is extremely weak and the whole plant can be easily driven by the wind. The sound of dry galgal plants rolling with the wind is a memorable experience to those who live amid these plants.Akoub’s dispersal takes place at about the same time as wheat harvest as indicated by the prophet Isaiah (17: 13)–“driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweed (galgal) before a gale”.

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And you shall take on the first day the fruit of a goodly tree, date palm fronds, the branch of a leafy tree, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days” (Leviticus 23:40)
The Four Species are an etrog, a palm branch, two willow branches and three myrtle branches. The six branches are bound together and referred to collectively as the lulav. The etrog is held separately. During the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, with these four species in hand one recites a blessing and waves the species in a special ceremony (called na’anu’im – נענועים) in six directions (east, south, west, north, up and down, symbolizing the fact that God is everywhere). In biblical times, these so-called “four species” served as an offering of thanksgiving and celebration at harvest time.

The Torah chose four species according to those kinds which abound in the Land of Israel. Israel has a wide variety of climates and geography, and each of the Four Species of Sukkot represents a different climate and symbolism. The aravah and the etrog need large amounts of water to thrive, the palm tree (lulav) and hadas can do with less water.

The Bible does not specify the names of the species or their precise description, but tradition came to identify the Biblical words thus:

1.Etrog (Hebrew: אתרוג) is one of several varieties of citron, – the lower coastal areas and valleys – Symbol of Fertility – “The fruit of a goodly tree”. The only citrus known to have grown here in ancient times is the citron (etrog) described in the Bible as “the fruit of the glorious (hadar) tree” (Leviticus 24:40). In modern Hebrew hadar (glory, grandiosity, splendor) has come to refer to all citrus fruits. This is the only one of the four species which is actually a fruit. Its inclusion symbolizes the zenith of agricultural development, when the farmers of Israel were able to spare the time and effort to raise fruit trees for their majesty and beauty.
The etrog produces fruit throughout the year. The pittom or stigma (the fruit’s female organ) stays attached to the fruit, even after it has ripened. In some species the pittom protrudes prominently from the fruit. This also explains how the etrog has become a symbol of fertility.

2.Lulav (Hebrew: לולב) is a ripe, green, closed frond of the date palm tree – Palm trees love hot and dry climates, but they don’t give much fruit along the coast, where it may be hot in the summer but it’s also very humid, they prefer the deserts – Symbol of Victory. In the Second Temple Period, the palm was a symbol of victory: “They came to the fort in Jerusalem with praise and with date fronds and with lyres and with harps,” the Book of Maccabees, following a Jewish victory over the Greeks. The fronds are reminders of the Jewish people’s 40-year wandering in the desert – Date palms also appeared on Jewish victory coins of that period.

3.Hadas (Hebrew: הדס, pl. hadassim – הדסים) is a bough of the myrtle tree – Hadassim prefer the colder mountainous regions – Symbol of Immortality and Success. The Hadas reminds the forest thickets that the Israelites found covering the hill country when they entered the land in the days of Joshua. The Hadas, myrtle is characterized by its leafy branches that also cover the trunk of the tree. Its branches remain upright and fresh long after cutting. It withstands drought; even after fire, the myrtle pushes out new leaves. To the renaissance, since it was forever green, it symbolized everlasting love.

4.Aravah (Hebrew: ערבה, pl. aravot – ערבות) is a leafy branch of the willow tree – The Aravah grows only within a few meters of streams that flow all year long – Symbol of Dependence on Water. Willows only flourish in water; they wilt the day that they are cut. Willows grow along the banks of the Jordan River, where the Israelites encamped before crossing into the Promised Land.

The Midrash (ancient Rabbinic commentary) finds symbolism in the four agricultural species – the four species correspond to four kinds of Jew.

The etrog has both tasty fruit and a good smell. It represents those who keep the Torah and also do good deeds; The lulav has tasty fruit (dates) but no smell. It represents those who keep the Torah, but don’t do good deeds; The hadas, the myrtle has a fresh smell but no fruit. It represents those who do good deeds but do not keep the Torah; The aravah has no fruit and no smell. It represents those who do not keep Torah and do no good deeds.

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