The ethnobotany of Christ's Thorn Jujube (Ziziphus spina-christi) in Israel

Amots Dafni; Shay Levy; Efraim Lev

doi:10.1186/1746-4269-1-8

The ethnobotany of Christ's Thorn Jujube (Ziziphus spina-christi) in Israel

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Abstract

This article surveys the ethnobotany of Ziziphus spina-christi (L.) Desf. in the Middle East from various aspects: historical, religious, philological, literary, linguistic, as well as pharmacological, among Muslims, Jews, and Christians. It is suggested that this is the only tree species considered "holy" by Muslims (all the individuals of the species are sanctified by religion) in addition to its status as "sacred tree" (particular trees which are venerated due to historical or magical events related to them, regardless of their botanical identity) in the Middle East. It has also a special status as "blessed tree" among the Druze.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-11
Journal	Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine
Volume	1
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1186/1746-4269-1-8
State	Published - 28 Sep 2005

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Health(social science)
Cultural Studies
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Complementary and alternative medicine

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10.1186/1746-4269-1-8

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The ethnobotany of Christ's Thorn Jujube (Ziziphus spina-christi) in Israel

Abstract

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