Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 12.djvu/194

 PLANTS

156

PLANTS

thidhar(l8.,)x,l3; Is., xli, 19; D.V. "elm"), the elm (q. V.) rather than pine.

Pistachio. Heb. holnim (Gen., xliii, 11), probablj' refers to the nut-fruits of Pistacia vera, very common in Palestine; j-et Arab, butm is appUed to Pistacia terebinthus.

Plane tree, Heb. armon (Gen., xxx, 37; Ezech., xxxi, 8 ; A. V. "chestnut tree"; Ecclus.,xxiv, 19). Platanus oricntalis, found throughout the East, fulfills well the condition implied in the Heb. name ("peeled"), as the outer layers of its bark peel off. A. V. translation is erroneous, for the chestnut tree does not flourish either in Mesopotamia or Palestine.

Pomegranate, the fruit of Pimica ffranatttm, a great favourite in the Orient, and very plentiful in Palestine, hence the many allusions to it in the Bible. Pomegranates were frequently taken as a model of ornamentation; several places of the Holy Land were named after the tree (Heb. riimyion): Rimmon, Geth- Remmon, En-Rimmon, etc.

Poplar, Heb. libneh (Gen., xxx, 37; Osee., iv, 13), Arab, lubna, Styrax officinalis, certainly identified with the tree, from the inner layer of whose bark the officinal storax is obtained.

Poppy. See Gall.

Pulse renders two Heb. words: (1) qali occurs twice in II Kings, xvii, 28, and is translated by "parched com" and "pulse"; the allusion is to cereals, the seeds of peas, beans, lentils, and the Uke, which, in the East, are roasted in the oven or toasted over the fire; (2) zcro'im, zer'onim (Dan., i, 12, 16) refer to no spe- cial plants, but possibly to all edible summer vege- tables.

Reed, a general word translating several Heb. names of plants: agrnon, gome, ?!2pA (see Bulrush) and qaneh (see Calamus).

Rest-harrow. See Briers.

Rock-rose. See Ladanum.

Rose. (1) Heb. khabbaKeleth (A. V., Song of Sol. ii, 1 ; Is.. x.\xv, 1) is probably the narcissus (see Flower of the field). (2) Wis., ii, 8, seems to indicate the ordi- narj- rose, though roses were known in Eg>-pt only at the epoch of the Ptolemies. (3) The rose plant mentioned in Ecclus., xxiv, IS; xxxix, 17, is rather the oleander, Nerium oleander, verj- abundant around Jericho, where it is doubtful whether roses ever flourished except in gardens, although seven different species of the genus Rosa grow in Palestine.

Rue (Luke, xi, 42), probably Ruta chalepensis, slightly different from R. grapeolens, the officinal rue. St. Luke implies that Pharisees regarded the rue as subject to tithe, although it was not mentioned in the Law among tithable things (Lev., .xxvii, 30; Num., x^-iii, 21 ; Deut., xiv, 22). This opinion of some overstrict Rabbis did not prevail in the course of time, and the Talmud {Shcbiith, ix, 1) distinctly excepts the rue from tithe.

Rush (Job, viii, 11). See Bulrush.

Rye, Heb. kusseineth (A. V., Ex., ix, 32; Is., xx\-iii, 25) like Arab, kirsanah, which suggests a leguminous plant, Vicia ervilia, Septuagint ren- ders it "spelt"; rj'e is unknown in Bible lands and thrives only in colder climates, hence a wrong trans- lation.

Saffron, Heb. karkom (Cant., iv, 14), of. Arab. kurkum, a fragrant plant. Crocus salivus, grown in the East and in Europe for seasoning dishes, bread, etc.

Sandal-wood. See Algum.

Sea-purslain. See Mallows.

Sedge, Heb. suph (D. V., Ex., ii, 3), a generic name for rush. See Bidrush.

Sedge-bush, Heb. 'akhu (D. V., Job, viii, 11; Gen., xli, 2, 18; "marshy places"; A. V., "meadow") prob- ably designates all kinds of green plants living in marshes (cf. Egypt, akhah), in particular Cyperus esculeiUiis. See Flag.

Setim wood, the gum arabic tree, Acacia Seyal, Del., which abounds in the oasis of the Sinaitic Peninsula and in the sultrj- Wadys about the Dead Sea. The wood is light, though hard and close-grained, of a fine orange-brown hue darkening with age, and was re- puted incorruptible.

Shrub, Heb. Ho'afuf (D. V., Is., ^^i, 19; Iv, 13), a particular kind of shrub, probably some jujube tree, either Zizyphus vulgaris, Lam., or Z. spina-christi, Willd.

Sloe. See Bur.

Smut. See Mildew.

Soap. See Borith.

Sodom, Vine of (Deut., xxxii, 32). See Vine.

Spear-mild. See Miid.

Spelt, A. V. and R. V. for kussemeth (Ezech., iv, 9). See Fitches. R. V. for qegakh (Ex., ix, 32; Is., xxviii, 25). See Gith.

Spices translates three Heb. words: (1) sammun, a generic word including galbanum onycha, the opercu- lum of a strombus, andstacte(2) fcasn??!, another generic term under which come myrrh, cinnamon, sweet cane, and cassia (3) ncko 'oth. possibly the .same substance as Arab, neka'ath. See Astragalus.

Spices, Aromatical (IV Kings, xx, 13; Is., xxxix, 2), a mistranslation for "precious things". See Astra- galus.

Spikenard (A. V. Song of Sol., i, 12; D.V., 11; iv, 14; Mark, xiv, 3; John, xii, 3), a fragrant, essential oil ob- tained from the root of \ardostachysjatamansi, D. C., a small herbaceous plant of the Himalayas, which is exported all over the East, and was known even to the Romans; the perfume obtained from it was very expen,sive.

Stacte translates four Heb. words: (1) nataph (Ex., xxx, 34), a fragrant gum identified with the storax (see Poplar), and with mvrrh in drops or tears; (2) ahaloth (D. V., Ps. xHv, 9; A. V., xiv, 8: "aloes", q. V.) ; (3) lot (Gen., x.xxvii, 25; xhii, 11), see Ladanum; (4) qiddah (Ezech., xx\ii, 19), see Cassia.

Storax. (1) Gen., xliii, 11: see Astragalus; (2) Ecclus., xxiv, 21: see Poplar; Stacte (1).

Sweet cane. See Cane.

Sycamine (A. V., Luke, x\'ii, 6; D. V. "mulberry tree"). As St. Luke distinguishes <rvKdiJiims (here) from avKoixopia (xix, 4), they probably differ; avxavlvo% is admitted by scholars to be the black mulberry, Morus nigra.

Sycamore or Sycamore, Heb. shiqmim or shiqmoth (III Kings, X, 27; Ps. Ixxviii, 47, D. V., Ixxvii, 47, "mulberry"; Is., ix, 10; A. V. Amos., vii, 14), not the tree commonly called by that name, Acer pseudo-plata- nus, but Ficus sycomorus, formerly more plentiful in Palestine.

Tamarisk, Heb. 'eshel (Gen., xxi, 33: "grove"; I Kings, xxii,6; xxxi, 13: D. V. "wood", A. V. "tree"), Arab, 'athl, a tree of which eight or nine species grow in Palestine.

Tcil tree (A. V., Is., vi, 13), a mistranslation of Heb. 'elah, which is probably the terebinth.

Terebinth (D. V., Is., vi, 13), Pistacia terebinthus, the turpentine tree, for V{eh.'ayl,'elah,'elon {see Oak); it grows in dr>- locahties of south and eastern Palestine where the oak cannot thrive. The turpentine, dif- ferent from that of the pine trees, is a kind of pleasant- smelling oil, obtained by making incisions in the bark, and is widely used in the East to flavour \\-ine, sweet- meats, etc.

Thistles, or numerous prickly plants, are one of the special features of the flora of the Holy Land; hence they are designated by various Hebrew words, incon- sistently translated by the versions, where guess-work seems occasionally to have been employed although the general meaning is certain: (1) barqnnim, see Briers; (2) dardar. Arab, shaukat ed-dardar, po.ssibly Centaureas, star-thistles and knapweeds; (3) khedeq, see Mad-apple; (4) khoakh (see Bur), a plant, which