Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 12.djvu/192

 PLANTS

154

PLANTS

the bottle-gourd, Cucurbila lagenaria, frequently used to overshadow booths or as a screen along treUises.

Gourd, Wild. See Colocynlh.

Grape. See Vine.

Grape, Wild. See Cockle.

Grass translates four Heb. words: (1) deshe', pasture or tender grass, consisting mainly of forage plants; (2) yerek, verdure in general; (3) kha^ir, a good equiv- alent for grass; (4) 'esebh, herbage, including vege- tables suitable for human food. It occurs frequently in the Bible, as in Gen., xlvii, 4; Num., xxii, 4; Job, vi, 5; XXX, 4 (see Malloifs); xl, 15; Matt., \'i, 30; etc.

Grove, English rendering of two Hebrew words: (1) asherah, a sacred pole or raised stone in a temple enclosure, which "groves" do not concern us here; (2) 'eshel, probably the tamarisk tree (q. v.; cf. Arab. 'alhl), but translated "groves" in Gen., xxi, 33, and rendered elsewhere by "wood", as in 1 Kings, xxii, 6; xxxi, 13.

Hay, Heb. hasas (Prov., xxvii, 25), a dried herb for cattle. "Stubble" in Is., v, 24; xxxiii. 11, also translates husas.

Hazel. See Almond tree.

Heath, Heb. 'ar ar aro'er (A. V., Jer., x^-ii, 6; xlviii, 6;D. V. "tamaric", "heath"), a green bush bearing red or pink blossoms, and native of the Cape of Good Hope. The only species in Palestine is the Erica verlicillala, Forskal. The E. midtiflora is abundant in the Mediterranean region.

Hemlock, Heb. rosh (A. V., Hosea, x, 4; Amos, vi, 12; D. V. "bitterness"; 13, "wormwood"), an um- belliferous plant from which the poisonous alkaloid, conia, is derived. Conium maculutum and jEthusa cynapium are found in SjTia. The water-hemlock is found only in colder zones. See Gall.

Henna. See Camphire.

Herb. See Grass.

Herbs, Bitter, Heb. meorim (Exod., xii, 8; Num., ix, 11; D. V. "wild lettuce"), comprise diverse plants of the family of Composite, which were eaten with the paschal lamb. Five species are known: wild lettuce, Heb. hazerel; endive, ulsin; chicory, tamka; harhabina and maror, whose translation is variously rendered a kind of millet or beet, and the bitter coriander or horehound.

Holm (Dan., xiii, .58; Is., xliv, 14; A. V. "cypress") probably Heb. tirzah, a kind of evergreen-oak.

Husks. See Carob.

Hyssop, Heb. 'ezob, Arab, zufa, an aromatic herb forming a dwarf bush. The Hysoppus officijialis, Unn6 (Exod., xii, 22; Lev., xiv, 4, 6, 49, 51-2; Num., xix, 6; Ps., 1, 9; Heb., Lx, 19), was used in aspersion. In III Kings, iv, 33, hyssop is a species of moss {Ortholricum saxatile; Pottia truncuhta) spoken of in contrast to the grandeur of the cedar. The "hyssop" mentioned in John, xix, 29, is written "reed" in Matt., xx^di, 48, and Mark, xv, 36.

Ivy (Jon., iv, 6-10; see Gourd), the Hedera helix, (II Mach., vi, 7), which grows wild in Palestine.

Juniper (D. V., Ill Kings, xix, 4-5; Job, xxx, 4; A. v., Ps. cxx, 4; D. V., cxix, "that lay waste", a mistranslation), an equivalent of Heb. rothem. a sort of broom (Retama retem, cf. Arab, ratam).

Knnj)wced. See Thistles.

Ladanum, Heb. lot (D. V. "stacte", A. V. "mjTrh", in Gen., xxxvii, 25; xliii, 11), a gum from several plants of the genus Cistus (rock-rose): C. villosus and C. salimfolius are very abundant. In Ecclus., xxiv, 21, "storax", Heb. libneh, is the equivalent of Greek araKT-fi, used by Septuagint in the above passages of Gen.; whether ladanum was meant is not clear, as it is frequently the Greek rendering of Heb. nataf.

Leeks, Heb. khagir (Num., xi, 5), also rendered "gras.s", a vegetable, Allium porrum.

Lentils, Heb. 'adashim (Gen., xxv, 34; II Kings, xvii, 28; Ezcch., iv, 9), Arab, ados, Ervum lens, or

Lens esculenta, Moench., an Important article of diet.

Lentisk. See Balm; Mastic tree.

Lign aloes. See Aloes.

Lily. (1) Heb. shushan, Arab, susan, a generical term applicable to many widely different flowers, not only of the order Liliacece, but of Iridaceae, Amarylli- darece, and others. Lilium candidum is cultivated everywhere; Gladiolus illyricus, Koch, G. segelum, Gawl, G. alroviolaceus, Boiss., are indigenous in the Holy Land; Iris sari, Schott, /. palesiina, Baker, /. lorteli. Barb., /. helente, are likewise abundant in pas- tures and swampy places. (2) The "lilies of the field " surpassing Solomon in glory were lilylike plants; needless to suppose that any others, e. g. the wind- flower of Palestine, were intended.

Lily of the valleys, Heb. khabba^geleth. See Flower of the field.

Locust tree. See Carob.

Lotus. (1) A water plant of the order Nymphce- aceae, the white species of which, Nymphcea lotus, was called in Egj'ptian seshni, sushin, like the Heb. shusha7i, which may have been applied to water-lilies, but the lotus was probablv intended in III Kings, vii, 19, 22, 26, 49. (2) A tree, Heb. fe 'elim (A. V. Job, xl, 21, 22; D. V., 16, 17: "shadow", "shades"), Zizyphus lotus, very common in Africa on the river banks.

Mad-apple, Heb. khedeq (Prov., xxvi, 9: D. V. "thorn"; ^Iich., \'ii, 4: "briers"), Arab, khadag, Solanum. coagulans, Forskal, of the same genus as our mad apple, found near Jericho. Solanum cordatum, Forskal, may also be intended.

Mallows, a mistranslation in A. V.. Job, xxx, 4, for the orache or sea-pmislain, Atriplex halimus, from Heb. ynalluakh, derived from melakh, "salt", as halimus from oiXj. According to Galen., the extremities are edible; the Talmud tells us that the Jews working in the re-construction of the Temple (520-15 B. c.) ate it (Kiddushim, iii, fol. 66^).

Mandrake, from Heb. duda', meaning "love plant", which Orientals believe ensures conception. All in- terpreters hold Mandragora officinarum to be the plant intended in Gen., xxx, 14, and Cant., vii, 13.

Manna of commerce is a sugarj' secretion of various Oriental plants, Tamarix mannifera, Ehr., Alhagi camelorum. Fish., Cotoneaster nummularia, Fraxinus onius, and F. rotundifolia; it has none of the qualifica- tions attributed to the manna of Ex., x\d.

Mastic tree, an alhteration of the Greek ffx'xos, ffxlirei, Aram, pistheqa-pesaq (Dan., xiii, 54), the lent- isk, Pistacia lentiscus, common in the East, which exudes a fragrant resin extensively used to flavour sweetmeats, wine, etc. See Balm.

Meadow, A. V., Gen., xh, 2, IS (D. V. "marshy places"), for Heb. akhu. See Flag; Sedge-bush.

Meadow saffron. See Flower of the field.

Melon, Heb. 'abhattikhim (Num., xi, 5), like Arab. bottikh, old Egypt, buttuga, seems to have a generic connotation, ^-et it designated primarily the water- melon {Citndlus vulgaris, Shrad.), and secondarily other melons. The passage of Numbers refers onlj' to the melons of Egj^pt, and there is no mention in the Bible of melons of Palestine, yet they were in old times cul- tivated as extensively as now.

Mildew, Heb. yeraqon, occurs three times in D. V. and with it is mentioned shiddaphon, variously ren- dered (II Par., vi, 28: "blasting"; Amos, iv, 9: "burning wind"; Agg., ii, 18: "blasting wind"). In Deut., xxvaii, 22, and III Kings, viii, 37, yeraqon is translated "blasting" (A. V. "mildew"), and shiddaphon, "corrupted air". Translators evidently had no definite idea of the nature and difference of these two plagues. Yeraqon, or mildew, is caused by parisitic fungi like Puccinia graminis and P. straminis which suck out of the grain, on which they develop on account of exces-sive moisture. Shiddaphon, or smut, manifests itself, in periods of excessive drought, and