Notes
Ziziphus (shizaf) is mentioned in the Mishnah. It refers to a domesticated species of Ziziphus, which was cultivated as a fruit tree. The domesticated tree has more elongated and shiny fruits, which are tasty. Although to cultivated commercially it can still be found throughout Israel.
The tree is very thorny. Each leaf grows a pair of stipules at its base, which turn into hard thorns, one straight and the other hooked. The zigzag branches are very dense.
The leaf is ovate and dense. Unlike common dicot leaf, it has three parallel mid-veins. Trees that become established in suitable places and if not felled reach a great size and age. In Israel, there are individuals with a height of 10 meters and a very broad trunk and large crown, which are several hundred years old. The largest tree in Israel, which is found at Ein Hatzeva, has been dated to around 800 years, and is the oldest tree known in Israel.
The combination of rigid, hooked thorns and dense growth led the Christians to identify the tree with the thorny plant from which the Romans braided Jesus’ crown of thorns to torture him before they killed him. This is the origin for its Latin name, Ziziphus spina-christi, which means ‘the messiah’s thorny jujube’.
Christ’s Thorn Jujube is a dense thorny tree of tropical-Sudanese origin. The fruit is edible, but not high quality. In Arabic the tree is called by different names (sidar, dom, and in the Sinai also nabak). The name sidar has become slang of the settlers, and the history of the settlement is accompanied by speaking about efforts to clear the ‘sidars’. The name ‘dom’ has stuck mainly to the fruits – ‘doms’. Some make the mistake and call the fruit of the Crataegus by this name (its correct Arabic name is za’arur).
There are two main species in Israel: Ziziphus spina-christi whose origin is tropical-Sudanese, in warm and humid landscapes, and arrived in Israel from the south, and Ziziphus lotus, whose origin is European and arrived from the north. Ziziphus spina-christi of the Sudanese origin, is found mainly in the warm valleys and oases of Israel. It even ‘deliberates’ whether to shed leaves in winter, since in its countries of origin there is no cold winter. Here too it usually grows as an evergreen tree having green leaves throughout the year. However, under extreme conditions, in cold areas or during an especially cold winter, it sheds most of its leaves. It is thought that the species arrived in Israel only during the pre-historic era (more precisely, during the Chalcolithic period, approximately 6000 years ago).
In the stories of the early Jewish settlement in the valleys of the northern part of Israel, the ‘sidar’ is known as a stubborn enemy, which the farmers struggled to eradicate.
In some environments, such as the foothills of the Golan Heights, Ziziphus spina-christi creates a savanna-like landscape, together with Ziziphus lotus, Quercus boissieri, Pistacia atlantica and Styrax officinalis.
The main blooming occurs from March to October, but blooming may also occur during other months. The flowers are small and arranged in racemes. They are bisexual, green-yellowish, and not easily seen from a distance. However, they secrete a large amount of nectar which draws many insects, especially honey bees. A complex mechanism of alternate ripening of male and female parts of the flower ensures cross pollination.
The fruit is round, 1-2 cm diameter, brown-yellowish when ripe. It contains a large stone in the center, which is surrounded by a dry and fleshy pulp. The fruit is edible, but not very tasty – poor people’s food.
The wood has been used for making crude tools.
There are over 100 species, 3 of which grow in Israel.
Medicinal Properties
Ziziphus spina-christi known as Christ’s Thorn Jujube, is a native plant that grows in tropical and subtropical regions especially in Middle East. Its extracts are important in drug development with pharmacological activities in the Middle East and South and East of Asia including Iran. For a long time, Z. spina-christi has been used in alternative medicine for the treatment of fever, pain, dandruff, wounds and ulcers, inflammatory conditions, asthma and to cure eye diseases. Z. spina-christi has recently been shown to have antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, anti-hyperglycemic, and antinociceptive activities. Flavonoids, alkaloids and saponins are the main phytochemicals that are reported from this plant. Geranyl acetone, methyl hexadecanoate, methyl octadecanoate, farnesyl acetone C, hexadecanol and ethyl octadecanoate are characterized as the major components of the leaves’ volatile oil. Due to the easy collection of the plant materials, its being cheap and widespread in many countries and also remarkable biological activities, this plant has become both medicine and food in some parts of the world, especially throughout the Middle East including Iran.
| Common name: | Christ’s Thorn Jujube |
| Hebrew name: | שיזף מצוי |
| Latin Name: | Ziziphus spina-christi |
| Habitat: | Heavy Soils |
| Petals: | 5 |
| Distribution: | Golan, Gallilee, Upper Jordan valley, Northern valleys, Gilboa, Carmel, Samarian mountains, Samarian desert, Judean mountains, Judean desert and Dead Sea valley, Ein Gedi, Sharon, Shefela, Northern Negev, Negev hills and Eilat, Aravah Valley. |
| Flowering: | March-October |
| Family: | Rhamnaceae |
| Type: | Open Woodland |
| Protected: | No |
| Notes: | Back… |
