''Ziziphus spina-christi'', known as the Christ's thorn jujube, is an evergreen tree or plant native to northern and tropical

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, Southern and

Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...

. It is native to the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...

and some tropical countries. Fruit and leaves from the tree were used in preparing ancient Egyptian foods and cultural practices.

Ecology

In the Levant, it grows in valleys up to an elevation of 500 m. The ripe fruits are edible. The seed, contained within a small, oblong woody pit, is opened and eaten by local fauna, including the

rock hyrax The rock hyrax (; ''Procavia capensis''), also called dassie, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, and (in the King James Bible) coney, is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal native to Africa and the Middle East. Commonly referred to in South Africa as the das ...

Cultural and religious references

In the Levant and wider Middle East it is called '' sidr'' (associated with the lote tree of the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

) and is common in the

Jordan Valley The Jordan Valley ( ar, غور الأردن, ''Ghor al-Urdun''; he, עֵמֶק הַיַרְדֵּן, ''Emek HaYarden'') forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. Unlike most other river valleys, the term "Jordan Valley" often applies just to ...

and around

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, as well as in the

Hajar Mountains The Hajar Mountains ( ar, جِبَال ٱلْحَجَر, Jibāl al-Ḥajar, ''The Rocky Mountains'' or ''The Stone Mountains'') in northeastern Oman and also the eastern United Arab Emirates are the highest mountain range in the eastern Arabian ...

of the

Sultanate of Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

. There were some folklore traditions that said the trees were protected by benevolent spirits or dead saints ( ''weli''). By some traditions, it was the tree from which

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

crown of thorns According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or grc, ἀκάνθινος στέφανος, akanthinos stephanos, label=none) was placed on the head of Jesus during the events leading up to his crucifixion. It was one of the instru ...

was made.

Matthew George Easton Matthew George Easton (3 June 1823 – 27 February 1894) was a Scottish minister and writer. His most known work is the ''Illustrated Bible Dictionary'' (1893), later known as Easton's Bible Dictionary''. The English translations of two of Franz ...

argues that ''Z. spina-christi'' is too brittle to be bent into a crown, and suggests another local plant, ''

Ziziphus lotus ''Ziziphus'' is a genus of about 40 species of spiny shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family, Rhamnaceae, distributed in the warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of the world. The leaves are alternate, entire, with three promi ...

''. The oldest known ''Z. spina-christi'' is located south of Jerusalem, in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

. 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 Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

Gallery

File:Zizyphus spina-christi.jpg, Fruit File:شکوفه درخت کنار، بهبهان.jpg, alt=Ziziphus Spina-Christi Blossom, ''Z. spina-christi'' blossom File:درخت کنار خودرو، بهبهان.jpg, alt=Wild Ziziphus Tree, Behbahan, Wild ''Z. spina-christi'' tree in Iran File:میوه درخت کنار، بهبهان.jpg, alt=Behbahan, ''Z. spina-christi'' fruit,

Behbahan Behbahan ( fa, بهبهان, also romanized as Behbahān and Behbehān) is a city and capital of Behbahan County, Khuzestan Province, Iran. Etymology The origin of the name "Behbahan" may be from two words: "Beh" meaning good better, and "Bah ...

, Iran

References

External links

Thorns of Ziziphus spina-christi

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2920458 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 spina-christi