Tuesday, August 20, 2024

Israel's biblical trees

ARBOREAL HISTORY: Hiking through history: Discovering Israel's native trees on the trails. Explore the unique beauty of Israel's native trees on your next hike, where ancient oaks, carobs, and figs bring the rich history and landscapes of the Holy Land to life (SUSANNAH SCHILD, Jerusalem Post).
t took about 20 years of living and traveling in Israel for me to deeply appreciate Israel’s own native trees, and their excellent qualities, suited to the local climate. In this land of rainy and dry seasons, oversized trees need too much water to survive. The low, shrubby forests native to Israel are less susceptible to drought and fire, common dangers of long, hot Israeli summers.

Biblical mentions of Middle Eastern trees are plentiful. ...

For more on the carob, see here and links. And for a bit of fun speculation about oaks and terebinths, see here.

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