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Ziziphus spina-christi

Species of tree

Summary

Species of tree

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Ziziphus spina-christi, known as the Christ's thorn jujube, is a thorny and evergreen tree or plant.

Distribution and habitat

It is native to the Levant, East Africa, and Mesopotamia.

Ecology

In the Levant, it grows in valleys up to an elevation of 500 m, and is drought tolerant and heat-resistant. The seed, contained within a small, oblong woody pit, is opened and eaten by local fauna, including the rock hyrax.

Uses

The ripe fruits are edible.

Historically, it was utilized in ancient Egyptian medicine for its supposed anti-inflammatory properties, specifically in treating pain, swelling, and heat. An in vitro study has suggested that the plant might have anti-inflammatory properties, identifying active compounds such as epigallocatechin and gallocatechin that inhibit inflammatory pathways like NF-κB.

In culture

In the Levant and wider Middle East, it is called sidr (associated with the lote tree of the Quran), and is common in the Jordan Valley and around Jerusalem, as well as in the Hajar Mountains of the United Arab Emirates. By some traditions, it was the tree from which the crown of thorns of Jesus was made. Matthew George Easton argues that Z. spina-christi is too brittle to be bent into a crown, and suggests another local plant, Ziziphus lotus.

The oldest known Z. spina-christi is located in Ir Ovot southern Israel. It is estimated to be between 1500 and 2000 years old. It is believed locally to be the very tree from which Jesus' crown of thorns was made. It is the national tree of Qatar and the symbol of Arabah.

In the Philippines, the Blaan people called it dadiangas. This was the former name of the city of General Santos.

References

Bibliography

References

  1. (2020). "''Ziziphus spina-christi''".
  2. [[American University of Beirut]]. [https://landscapeplants.aub.edu.lb/Plants/GetPDF/ca295a0a-a2a7-48f9-b7be-1f9dae986bd4 Zizyphus spina christi (Christ's Thorn Jujube)]. Retrieved on 27 May, 2025
  3. Orwa. (2009). "''Zizyphus spina-Christi''". 5Agroforestry Database 4.0.
  4. Zohary M.. (1972). "Flora Palaestina. II.". The Israel Academy of Science and Humanities.
  5. [[World Agroforestry Centre]]. [https://apps.worldagroforestry.org/treedb/AFTPDFS/Zizyphus_spina-christi.PDF Zizyphus spina-christi]. Retrieved on 31 May, 2023
  6. Reinhard Fichtl. "Christ's Thorn - Ziziphus spina-Christi".
  7. (April 2016). "Evaluating ancient Egyptian prescriptions today: Anti-inflammatory activity of Ziziphus spina-christi". Phytomedicine.
  8. Lancaster, William. (2011). "Honour is in contentment: life before oil in Ras al-Khaimah (UAE) and some neighbouring regions". De Gruyter.
  9. "''Ziziphus spina-christi''". Flowersinisrael.com.
  10. (15 November 2014). "Rooted in Israel's history, five remarkable trees". [[Times of Israel]].
  11. "The "old man" of Hatzeva – the jujube tree at Hatzeva Spring". Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development.
  12. (24 January 2016). "Israeli trees get IDs with interactive heritage project". [[The Jerusalem Post]].
  13. (20 April 2019). "The real story of Jesus Christ's crown of thorns". [[news.com.au]].
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

fruits-originating-in-africa trees-of-africa trees-of-asia desert-fruits flora-of-north-africa flora-of-northeast-tropical-africa flora-of-western-asia trees-in-religion ziziphus crown-of-thorns botanical-taxa-named-by-carl-linnaeus plants-described-in-1753
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