Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 12.djvu/191

 PLANTS

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PLANTS

text; be'ushim may mean stinking fruits, as be'osha means stinking weeds. (2) ftfat-ia, from Aram. 2oni7i, stands for Lolium temulenlum, or bearded darnel, the only grass with a poisonous seed, "entirely like wheat till the ear appears". The rendering of both versions is therefore inaccurate.

Colocy-nth, Citrullus colocynthis, Schr., Cucumis c, probably the "wild gourd" of IV ivings, iv, 38-40, common throughout the Holy Land. In III Kings, vi, 18; vii, 24, we read about carvings around the inside of the Temple and the brazen sea, probably representing the ornamental leaves, stems, tendrils, and fruits of the colocynth.

Coriander seed (Ex., xvi, .31; Num., xi, 7), the fruit of Coriandrum sativum, allied to aniseed and caraway.

Corn, a general word for cereals in English Bibles, like dagan in Heb. 'Wheat, barley, spelt (fitches), vetch, millet, pulse; rye and oats are neither men- tioned in Scripture nor cultivated in the Holy Land.

Corn, Wilder, Heb. kussemeth (D. V., Ex., ix, 32; A. V. "rye"), rendered "spelt" in Is., xxviii, 25, yet the close resemblance of Arab, kirsanah with Heb. suggests a leguminous plant, Vicia ernilia.

Cotton, Heb. or Persian karpas, Gossy-pium herb- aceum, translated "green". Probably the shesh of Egypt and the hug of Syria (Ezech., xxvii, 7, 16, "fine linen") were also cotton.

Cucumber, Heb. qishshu'im (Num., xi, 5; Is., i, 8), evidently the species Cucumis chate (cf. Arab, gith- tha), indigenous in Egypt; C. salivus is also exten- sively cultivated in Palestine.

Cummin, Heb. kammon, Arab, kammun, the seed of Cuminum cyminum (Is., xxviii, 25, 27; Matt., x-xiii, 23).

Cypress, in D. V., Cant., i, 16 (A. V., 17) a poor translation of Heb. 'cf shemen (see Oil tree) ; elsewhere Heb. beros/i is rendered "fir tree"; in Ecclus., x.xiv, 17, the original word is not known. Among the identifica- tions proposed for beroth are Pinus halepensis, Micl., and Cupressus sempervirens, the latter more probable.

Cyprus (Cant., i, 13; iv, 13). See Camphire.

Darnel, bearded. See Cockle (2).

Dill (R. v.. Matt., xxiii, 23). See Anise.

Ear of corn translates three Heb. words: (1) shibboleth, the ripe ear ready for harvest; (2) melilah, the ears that one may pluck to rub in the hands, and eat the grains (Deut., xxiii, 25; Matt., xii, 1; Mark, ii, 23; Luke, vi, 1); (3) abib, the green and tender ear of corn.

Ebony, Heb. hobnim, Arab, ebnus (Ezech., xxvii, 15), the black lieart wood of Diospyros cbenum, and allied species of the same genus, imported from coasts of Indian Ocean by merchantmen of Tyre.

Elecampane. See Thistles (6).

Elm translates: (1) Heb. thidhar (D. V., Is., xli, 19; Is., Ix, 13: "pine trees"), possibly Ulmus campestris, Sm. (Arab, derdar); (2) Heb. 'elah (A. V., Hos.,iv, 13; D. V. "turpentine tree"). See Terebinth.

Figs (Heb. te'enim), the fruit of the fig tree (Heb. tc'enah), Ficus carica, growing spontaneously and cultivated throughout the Holy Land. The fruit buds, which appear at the time of the "latter rains" (spring), are called "green figs" (Cant., ii, 13; Heb. pag, cf. Beth-phage), which, "late in spring" (Matt., xxiv, 32), ripen under the overshadowing leaves, hence Mark, xi, 13, and the parable of the barren fig tree (Matt., xxi, 19, 21; Mark, xi, 20-6; Luke, xiii, 6-9). Precociously ripening figs (Heb. bikkurah) are particularly relished; the ordinary ripe fruit is eaten fresh or dried in compressed cakes (Heb. debelah: I Kings, xxv, 18, etc.). Orientals still re- gard figs as the best poultice (IV Kings, xx, 7; Is., x.xxviii, 21; St. Jerome, "In Isaiam", xxxviii, 21, in P. L., XXIV, 396).

Fir, ai)f)liod to all coniferous trees except the cedar, but should be restricted to the genera Abies and Picea, meant by Heb. siakh (Gen., xxi, 15; D. V. "trees"; cf.

Arab, shukh). Among these, Abies cilicia, Kotsch, and Picea orientalis are found in the Lebanon, Amanus and northward.

Fitches, Heb. kuisemeth (Ezech., iv, 9), possibly Vicia ernlia, rendered "gith" by D. V., "rye" and "spelt" by A. V. and R. V. in Is., xxviii, 25.

Flag, Heb. akhu (A. V., Gen., xh, 2, 18: "meadow"; D. V. "marshy places", "green places in a marshy pasture"; Job, viii, 11: D. V. "sedge-bush"), aplant growing in marshes and good for cattle to feed upon, probably Cyperus esculenlus.

Flax, Heb. pistah (Ex., ix, 31; Deut., xxii, 11: "linen ; Prov., xxxi, 13), Linum usilatissim,um, very early cultivated in Egypt and Palestine.

Flower of the field, Heb. khabbaggeleth (Is., xxv, 1), kh. sharon (Cant., ii, 1), like Arab. bUseil, by which Narcissus tazetta is designated by the Palestinians. Possibly A^. serotinus, or fall Narcissus, was also meant by Heb., which some suppose to mean the meadow-saffron (Colchicum variegatum, C. steveni), abundant in the Holy Land.

Forest translates five Heb. words: (1) Ya'ar, forest proper; (2) horesh, "wooded height"; (3) gebak, a clump of trees; (4) 'abhim, thicket; (5) pardeg, orchard. Among the numerous forests mentioned in the Bible are: Forest of Ephraim, which, in the Canaanite period, extended from Bethel to Bethsan; that between Bethel and the Jordan (IV Kings, ii, 24); Forest of Hareth, on the western slopes of the Judean hills; Forest of Aialon, west of Bethoron; Forests of Kiriath Yearim; the forest where Joatham built castles and towers (II Par., xxvii, 4) in the moun- tains of Juda; that at the edge of the Judean desert near Ziph (I Kings, xxiii, 15); Forest of the South (Ezech., XX, 46, 47); and those of Basan (Is., ii, 13) and Ephraim (II Kings, xviii, 6). Lebanon, Carmel, Her- mon were also covered with luxuriant forests.

Frankincense (Heb. lebonah) should not be con- founded with incense (Heb. qetorah), which confusion has been made in several passages of the English Bibles, e. g.. Is., xliii, 23; Ix, 6 (A. V.); Jer., vi, 20. Incense was a mixture of frankincense and other spices (Ex., XXX, 34-5). Arabian frankincense, the frankincense par excellence, is the aromatical resin of Boswellia sacra, a tree which grows in southern Arabia (Arab, luban); B. papyrifera of Abyssinia yields African frankincense, which is also good.

Fuller's herb (Mai., iii, 2). See Borith.

Galbanum, Heb. khelbenah (Ex., xxx, 34; Ecclus., xxiv. 21), a gum produced by Ferula galbaniflua, Boiss. and other umbelliferous plants of the same genus. Its odour is pungent, and it was probably used in the composition of incense to drive away in- sects from the sanctuary.

Gall translates two Heb. words: (1) mererah, which stands for bile; (2) rosh, a bitter plant associated with wormwood, and growing "in the furrows of the field" (Osee, X, 4; D. V. "bitterness"), identified with: poison hemlock (.^. V., Hos.,x, 4), Conium maculatum, not grown in the fields; colocynth, Citrullus colo- cynthis, not found in ploughed ground; and darnel, Lolium te.mulentum, not bitter. Probably the poppy, Papaver rheas, or P. somniferum, Arab, ras elhishhash, is meant.

Garlic, Allium sativum, Heb. shum (cf. Arab. thUm), a favourite article of food in the East. The species most commonly cultivated is the shallot. Allium ascalonicum.

Gith, Heb. quegakh (Is., xxviii, 25, 27), Nigella saliva; A. V. "fitches" is wrong, nor does queqakh stand for the nutmeg flower, as G. E. Post suggests.

Goose-weed. See Cockle.

Gopher wood (Gen., vi, 14; D. V. "timber planks"), a tree suitable for shipbuilding: cypress, cedar, and other resinous trees have been proposed, but inter- preters remain at variance.

Gourd, Heb. qiqayou (Jon., iv, 6-10; D. V. "ivy"),