Ziziphus spina-christi
| Ziziphus spina-christi | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Rhamnaceae |
| Genus: | Ziziphus |
| Species: | Z. spina-christi |
| Binomial name | |
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Ziziphus spina-christi (L.)Desf. |
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| Synonyms | |
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Ziziphus spina-christi — known as the Christ's Thorn Jujube — is an evergreen tree native to northern and tropical Africa and southern and Western Asia. In the region of Palestine, it grows in valleys up to an elevation of 500 m. By some traditions, it was the tree from which Jesus' crown of thorns was made.
The ripe fruits are edible, and the flowers are an important source of honey in Eritrea and Yemen.
In Palestine a hundred years ago it was called sidr (associated with the "Lote-trees" of the Koran) and was common in the Jordan valley and around Jerusalem. There were some folklore traditions that said the trees were protected by benevolent spirits or dead saints (weli). The Bedouin valued the fruit, calling it nabk. It could be dried and kept for winter or made into a paste which was used as bread. In Jerusalem Z. spina-christi crowns were sold to pilgrims.
Elsewhere in the Arab world the European and Chinese jujubes are also associated with the Lote-trees (sidr).
The nineteenth century English explorer, Richard Francis Burton reported seeing an ancient sidr tree in the mosque containing the Prophet Muhammad's tomb in Medina. It was in a garden dedicated to the prophet's daughter, Fatimah. The fruit from the tree was being sold to pilgrims and its leaves used for washing dead bodies.
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Wikipedia