The vegetable kingdom or flora of the earth is first alluded to, under three heads, as we read in Genesis 1:1111And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. (Genesis 1:11): “And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.” These three heads comprise all the different forms, sizes, and natures of the organized bodies that grow upon the earth and in its waters, and which in the second chapter of Genesis are collectively called “plants.” We further read “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”
For nearly the first two thousand years of man upon the earth, we have no information as to what were the kinds of plants that furnished his food; we, however, read that Cain was a tiller of the ground, and in process of time he brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. What kind of fruits these were we have no knowledge. After the flood we read that Noah planted a vineyard and made wine; the vine, therefore, is the first recorded cultivated plant, but it may be readily inferred that besides the vine some kind of corn or pulse was cultivated, as “fine meal,” “bread,” and “cakes” are spoken of in the time of Abraham, and “lentils” and “wheat” in the time of Jacob. After this we find barley, rye, millet, beans, pulse (chick pea?), figs, pomegranates, nuts, and several herbs mentioned.
The above are the food plants recorded in the books of Moses; flax being the only plant mentioned as used for clothing and woven fabrics for other purposes. Moses also speaks of several spicery or perfume plants, all of which are noticed in their respective places in the following pages.
The next important notice of plants, in the Bible, is that king Solomon “spake of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that springeth out of the wall,” by which it is reasonable to infer that he had all plants that came under his observation cataloged and classified, and must therefore be considered the first systematic botanist.
He was also a great patron of Horticulture as we read “I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards; I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kinds of fruit; I made me pools of water to water therewith the wood (nursery) that bringeth forth trees.”
Unfortunately we have no record of Solomon’s botanical knowledge of the plants of Palestine and all trace of his gardens appears to have been early lost, except that we learn from Josephus that in his time the balm plantations at Jericho were still in existence.
After Solomon the principal mention of grass, herbs, and trees is in the books of the prophets, and afterward in the New Testament, either as articles of trade or more often in a figurative, symbolical, or emblematical sense, but it is questionable whether all were practically acquainted with the plants they spoke of, especially those that grew on Lebanon.
The above is a brief notice of the authority for our knowledge of the names of the plants mentioned in the Bible, of which there are about one hundred, and, with the exception of about a dozen, they are all natives of Syria, especially the western part called Palestine, familiarly known as the Holy Land. The following is a brief account of its extent and aspect, climate and chief features of its flora.
It is the most western part of Asia, consisting of a narrow strip of country, situated on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, between the latitudes of about 30° 40’ and 33° 36’ North. Its breadth varies much (consequent on the bays and promontories on the Mediterranean coast) in the north not exceeding twenty miles, while in the south it measures fifty. This width includes the country between the sea and the river Jordan. Its length from north to south is about one hundred and forty miles.
This is true Palestine, but the kingdom of Tire with Mount Lebanon in the north, and the countries of Gilead and Moab, East of the Jordan and Dead Sea, are now also included under the name of Palestine. These increase the length to about one hundred and eighty miles, and the breadth on an average of about fifty to sixty-five.
It is bounded on the West by the Mediterranean, on the east by the mountainous countries of Gilead and Moab, on the north by Mount Lebanon, on the south-east by Mesopotamia and the Desert of North Arabia, and on the south-west by the Desert of Paran or the Desert of the Wanderings bordering the eastern shores of the Red Sea, and the peninsula of Sinai stretching southward, on which stands the historic Mount of that name.
The country varies considerably in aspect, but it will be sufficient for our purpose to notice only a few of its principal features.
It is traversed in a nearly north and south direction by two ranges of mountains, having very irregular outlines and varying considerably in elevation, enclosing between them a long narrow fertile valley, through which runs the river Jordan. The range nearest the Mediterranean is called the Lebanon Range, and in the north commences with Mount Lebanon, which rises to the height of 10,200 feet, and is snowcapped the greater part of the year. In some places lower down the limestone cliffs add to its white aspect. Its western base approaches within a few miles of the Mediterranean. Southward from Lebanon the range varies considerably in height, and includes the hilly country of Galilee. The range gradually decreases in elevation southward, then again rises and includes the hilly country of Samaria and Hebron, terminating in the desert near Gaza. Much of the country between this range and the sea consists of slopes and fertile plains, as the Plains of Phœnicia in the north, containing the cities of Tire and Sidon, and in the south the great Plains of Esdraelon, Acra and Sharon, which are separated by lateral spurs of the main range jutting out towards the sea, Mount Carmel being conspicuous.
On the east of Mount Lebanon commences the eastern range, called Anti Lebanon, its highest peak being Mount Hermon which rises to the height of 9,800 feet, and like Lebanon is snow-capped. This range extends southward including the countries of Bashan and Gilead, terminating in the elevated table land of Moab, east of the Dead Sea.
The average height of both ranges, exclusive of the peaks, is 1,500 to 1,800 feet. In general they are broken and rugged in the extreme, consisting of ravines, deep fissures, precipices, and towering rocks. Some parts of the eastern range are evidently volcanic, as shown by the rents and cracks in the once molten, now hardened lava, which at some remote period poured over that region. On being viewed from the west, much of it has the appearance of a continuous cliff or wall.
Several large rivers have their sources in the north of Anti-Lebanon; the most important being the Jordan, Orontes, Leontes, Abana, and Pharphar. The two latter and other smaller streams rising further south flow east of Anti Lebanon, and after fertilizing the valleys and plains, including those of Damascus, end their course in the marshy lakes and swamps of the desert. The Orontes takes a northward direction, and after a winding course of one hundred and fifty miles, flows round the north of Lebanon, through the plains of Antioch, and then turning westward falls into the Mediterranean Sea. The Leontes flows westward, and after a winding course of eighty miles, partly through rocky chasms, enters the Mediterranean four miles north of Tire.
The Jordan rises from several sources, which unite and enter the great morass of the Hûleh whose southern extremity becomes a Lake, from which the Jordan issues: after leaving the Lake its current is sluggish, but soon becomes rapid, and after a course of nine miles, and having a breadth of seventy feet, enters the north end of the Lake of Gennesareth (also called the Sea of Galilee or Lake of Tiberias). It is of an oval shape, thirteen to fifteen miles in length, and six to seven in breadth; its surface being 700 feet below the level of the Mediterranean. The Jordan issues from the south end of the Lake, and after a winding course of two hundred miles, within an area four to five miles in breadth, enters the Dead Sea sixty miles south of Gennesareth: during its winding course its width varies considerably, some places being seventy, others eighty yards, until its junction with the Dead Sea, where it is much wider. This is an inland salt water lake, forty-two miles in length, and twelve to sixteen miles in breadth, its surface being 1,292 feet below the not far distant Mediterranean. The Jordan thus flows between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon ranges of mountains, through a gradually deepening valley which may be likened to a chasm cut out of the earth.
Many small rivers rise from the sides of these two mountain ranges, and fertilize the valleys, falling into the Jordan or Dead Sea, the principal of which are the Jarmouk, the Jabbok, and the Arnon. Besides these, about a dozen rise in the western range, and fall into the Mediterranean, but some of them can only be called winter torrents, the principal being the Kishon, which drains the hill country surrounding the plain of Esdraelon.
As might be expected, considerable diversity of climate prevails, which is shown by the varied nature of its flora in different localities. At Jerusalem, which is situated in 31° 47’ north latitude, at an elevation of 2,610 feet above the level of the Mediterranean, from which it is distant thirty-two miles, snow occasionally falls, and sometimes remains on the ground for a week or more. Ice is, however, seldom seen. Arabian poetry says Mount Lebanon bears winter on his head, spring on his shoulders, and autumn on his breast, while summer lies sleeping at his feet.
Although the greater part of the higher mountain ranges are destitute of vegetation, they nevertheless in other parts are densely covered with forests consisting of different kinds of oaks, firs, and terebinth trees.
The forests of Lebanon consist of the famed “Cedar of Lebanon,” Pinus halepensis, Juniperus excelsa, Cupressus sempervirens, Walnut, Plane, Maple, different kinds of oaks, also the common Juniper, Hawthorn, Dog-rose, Dwarf elder, Ivy, Butcher’s broom, Berberry, Honeysuckle, Jasmine, Cotoneaster, Rhododendron ponticum, the Strawberry tree, Erica vagans and E. orientalis, the two latter being the only representatives of that extensive genus in Western Asia. At 7,000 feet and upwards the shrubs consist of spiny bushes, such as Poterium spinosum, Astragalus Tragacantha, and others.
The lower rocky valleys and plains of both the Lebanon and Anti Lebanon ranges are covered with numerous shrubs, consisting of Oleander, Arbutus, Oistus, wild roses, brambles, and the like; also the Myrtle, Caper bush, Jujube, Styrax, Carob tree, Pistachio nut, Pomegranate, Almond, and the Apricot; Fig trees cling to the rocks; Mulberries are cultivated in rows on step-like terraces; the vines are trained along the narrow ledges, and dense groves of olives occupy the lower parts of the glens. The Date palm, once abundant about Jerusalem and Jericho and the regions of the Dead Sea, is now a thing of the past, as it also is in the once fertile plain of Engedi, famed in the time of Solomon for its palms, vineyards, and balsams, now only solitary trees being occasionally met with.
Numerous kinds of herbaceous plants are common throughout the whole country, such as Anemones, Ranunculuses, Arums, Irises, and Lilies, and, the different kinds being generally gregarious, present a splendid appearance during their respective flowering seasons. This brilliant scene is, however, soon over, the scorching rays of the summer sun withering up the bright flowers and imparting to the soil a degree of apparent sterility. Poplars, willows, reeds, and rushes grow by rivers, brooks, and marshes; and weeds, such as Poppies, Charlock, Cockle, Centaurea, Bluebottle, Thistles, Scabious, Docks, and many others are pests in cultivated grounds, as in this country.
Consequent on the depression of the Jordan Valley, and partly on account of latitude, the climate in the region of the Dead Sea may be called tropical, and favors a most luxuriant and in some parts jungle vegetation, such as that formed by the reed Arundo Donax, which represents the bamboo of India. About one hundred species, typical of the flora of Arabia and India, are here found, one of the most special being Salvadora indica, a small tree, supposed by some writers to be the mustard tree of Scripture; also Calotropis procera, which forms thickets of low trees. Acacia Farnesiana is abundant, and, besides being remarkable for the fragrance of its beautiful yellow flowers, is rendered conspicuous by a species of Loranthus, L. acacia growing as a parasite on it. This, when in flower, gives the tree the appearance of being on fire. On the saline plains grow Atriplex Halimus, Chenopodiums, Mesembryanthemums, Salsolas, Salicornias, Tamarisks, Statices, and other stiff rigid plants common to the sea coasts of the Mediterranean, and some of them of Britain.
The cultivated valleys and plains yield abundant crops of corn, pulse, fruits, and vegetables; even in the hilly countries of Bashan and Gilead every available spot is cultivated, corn fields being found at high elevations. There are, however, many extensive barren tracts of country that may be termed desert, which in early times appear to have been cultivated.
In recent years the principal fruits of Europe have been introduced, as also many useful domestic plants of India and other countries, including the Banana, which ripens as far north as Sidon.
Although no complete general flora of Palestine and Western Syria has been published, yet, according to the discoveries of botanical collectors and travelers, the number of species is estimated to amount to nearly three thousand, of which the names of nearly two thousand five hundred are recorded in a manuscript catalog in the Herbarium library of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
A work is now in progress entitled “Flora Orientalis,” by Professor Boissier, of which three volumes have appeared, and a part of the fourth. It describes the plants of Greece, Syria including Palestine, Caucasus, Taurus, Persia, Afghanistan, and others, and their local geographical distribution; by this work we find that there are but few plants peculiar to Palestine.
In 1860 Dr. Hooker spent some time in Palestine, and in Smith’s “Dictionary of the Bible” gives a very interesting and general view, of its present flora. He says the Botany of Syria and Palestine differs but little from that of Asia Minor, which is one of the most rich and varied on the globe. What differences it presents are due to a slight admixture of Persian forms on the Eastern frontier, of Arabian and Egyptian on the Southern, and of Arabian and Indian tropical plants in the low torrid depressions of the Jordan and Dead Sea. The main features of the flora are essentially Mediterranean, European, and not Asiatic. A vast proportion of the common arborescent and frutescent plants are identical with those of the South of Europe and belong to genera of the British, Germanic, and Scandinavian Floras. About 500 species are common to Great Britain and Palestine. This number includes all the principal large trees, with the exception of the Beech, Lime, Birch, Holly, and Yew; and the exotic Sweet chestnut, Larch, Spruce, and Horse chestnut.
Of grasses there are about one hundred and fifty species, including nearly all the natives of Britain, the principal exceptions being Arundo Donax, Saccharum eegyptiacum, and Erianthus.Ravenna;, which are large growing, cane-like grasses. Cyperacew is poorly represented, but contains what Dr. Hooker calls “the most memorable plant of this region, or indeed of the whole world,” the paper reed Papyrus anti-quorum, which grows in the extensive marshes contiguous to the Lake of Galilee and other parts.
The cryptogamic flora of Palestine is as far as known, not rich, about a dozen ferns only being recorded; Polypodium vulgare, Cystopteris fragilis, Nephrodium pallidum, and Polystichum angulare grow on Mount Lebanon; Adianturn capillus veneris, Cheilanthes fragrans, Clymnograrn,ma leptophylla, Ceterach oflicinarum, Pteris lanceolata, Asplenium Adiantum-nigrum, and Selagiuella are found in different parts of the country. One peculiarity that may be noticed is that the most cosmopolitan and abundant of all ferns, the common Brake, Pteris aquilina is not recorded as being a native of Palestine. The above, I trust, will be sufficient to convey to the reader an idea of the nature of the country of Palestine and its flora, of which many species have from time to time been introduced into this country, some, such as the Cedar of Lebanon, Pinus halepensis, Juniperus excelsa, three species of Oak, Walnut, Mulberry, Fig, Judas Tree, Syrian Rose, and many herbaceous plants flourish in the open air, whilst others, such as the terebinth, Pistachio nut, Carob tree, Pomegranate, Myrtle, Oleander, Caper, Storax, Olive, and the Paper reed are not sufficiently hardy to withstand the cold of severe winters without some kind of protection. Many of them may be seen in the conservatories of the Royal Botanic Gardens at kew, and in other public collections in this country.