Plants of the Bible: Aloe (Aloe vera aka Aloe barbadensis)
Karen Best known as aloe vera, this evergreen succulent perennial may be native to the Canary Islands, Madeira, and the Cape Verde Islands or the Arabian Peninsula. Plants grow 2-3′ high…
Plants of the Bible: Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus aka Curcurbita citrullus)
Archaeological and artistic evidence suggests that ancient Egyptians enjoyed eating watermelons over 3,500 years ago. A tiny fragment of a watermelon leaf as well as tomb paintings indicate that the…
Plants of the Bible: Lentil (Lens culinaris aka Lens esculenta)
Lentil is a cool season annual domesticated in the Fertile Cresent and dating back to 7500-6500 BC. The many branched plants grow 12-20″ tall may be erect or spreading. The…
Plants of the Bible: Box (Buxus sp.)
Box is a slowgrowing evergreen shrub or small tree with small leaves and clusters of small yellow-green, apetalous male and female flowers in the leaf axils of the same plant.…
Plants of the Bible: Rue (Ruta graveolens)
Also called herb of grace, rue is an evergreen mounding subshrub native to the Balkan Peninsula where it grows on dry hillsides, often on limestone. The ancient Greeks used rue…
Plants of the Bible: Caper (Capparis spinosa )
Also called flinders rose, this broad leaf evergreen creeping shrub is native to arid and semi arid regions of the Mediterranean, East Africa, Madagascar, parts of Asia, Himalayas, the Pacific…
Plants of the Bible: Coriander (Coriandrum sativa)
Also known as cilantro and Chinese parsley, coriander is a warm weather annual native to southern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean but is widely cultivated elsewhere as a culinary herb…
Plants of the Bible: Cumin (Cuminum cyminum)
Cumin is a herbaceous annual native to the eastern Mediterranean east to India and has been known from ancient Egyptian times. Although there have been many claims about the medicinal…
Plants of the Bible: Apple (Malus domestica aka M. pumila)
The domestic apple is a deciduous tree native to central Asia and has been grown for thousands of years in Asia and Europe. The trees grow 6-15′ tall in cultivation…
Plants of the Bible: Black Mulberry (Morus nigra)
Black mulberry is a deciduous tree originally from southwestern Asia and a member of the mulberry family that also includes figs, Osage-orange, and banyan. It has wide spreading branches that…