View source for Sycamine

{{Short description|Tree mentioned in ancient literature}}
{{About|the tree|the town|Tel Shikmona}}
[[File:Sycomoros old.jpg|thumb|Sycamine tree in the Land of Israel]]
The '''sycamine tree''' ({{Langx|el|συκάμινος}} ''sykaminοs'')<ref>{{LSJ|suka/minos|συκάμινος|ref}}.</ref> is a tree mentioned in both classical [[Hebrew literature]] ([[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] 9:10;<ref>[[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] [https://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1009.htm#9 9:9]</ref> [[Mishnah]] ''[[Demai (tractate)|Demai]]'' 1:1,<ref>[[Mishnah]] ''Demai'' [https://archive.org/details/DanbyMishnah/page/n49/mode/1up 1:1] (p. 20 in [[Herbert Danby|Danby]]'s edition)</ref> ''et al.'') and in Greek literature.{{refn|group=Note|In the [[dative case]] form of the word, i.e. {{lang|grc|συκαμίνῳ}} ''sykaminōi''}} The tree is also known by the names '''sycamore fig tree''' (''[[Ficus sycomorus]]''), and '''fig-mulberry'''. It appears also in [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] 17:6 and 19:4 of the [[Christian Bible|Bible]]. The Hebrew word for the tree is ''shiḳmah'' (sing.) ({{Langx|he|'''שקמה'''}}), ''shiḳmīn'' (pl.)  ({{Langx|he|'''שקמין'''}}),<ref>[[Zohar Amar|Amar, Z.]] (2015). ''Flora and Fauna in Maimonides' Teachings'', Kfar Darom {{OCLC|783455868}}, pp. 161–162 (in Hebrew)</ref> having nearly the same phonemes in Greek ({{lang|grc|συκομορέα}} ''sykomorea'')<ref>{{LSJ|sukomore/a|συκoμορέα|shortref}}.</ref> Others, however, identify the tree as [[mulberry]] tree, found in two species, the [[Black Mulberry]] (''Morus nigra'') and the [[White Mulberry]] (''Morus alba''), which are common in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]. It is in the same [[family (biology)|family]] as the [[ficus|fig]]-tree.
<blockquote>The bricks are fallen, but we will build with hewn stones; the [[Ficus sycomorus|sycamores]] are cut down, but cedars will we put in their place.<ref>Isaiah 9:9</ref></blockquote>
The trees were once very common along the [[Shfela|lowlands]] and coastal plains of [[Land of Israel|Israel]].<ref>[[Tosefta]] ''[[Shevi'it (tractate)|Shevi'it]]'' 7:11; cf. [[II Chronicles]] [https://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt25b01.htm#15 1:15], [https://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt25b09.htm#27 9:27]</ref> During the [[Second Temple]] period, sycamore fig trees grew in [[Jericho]], but when passers-by would come along and appropriate the tree branches unto themselves, the owners came and dedicated the trees, in their entirety, to the [[Temple treasury]] as a dedicatory offering in order to prevent their theft.<ref>[[Babylonian Talmud]] (''[[Pesachim (tractate)|Pesahim]]'' 57a)</ref>
The sycamine is a [[deciduous]] to semi-deciduous tree and sheds its fruit in a prolific manner, by reason of which the [[Chazal|Sages of Israel]] prohibited a Jewish planter from planting such trees within the radius of 50 [[Cubit#Biblical cubit|cubits]] from his neighbor's [[Well|cistern]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mishnah |author-link=Mishnah |title=The Mishnah |date=1977 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=0-19-815402-X |editor-last=Herbert Danby |editor-link=Herbert Danby |edition=12th |location=Oxford |language=English}}, s.v. [[Baba Bathra]] [https://archive.org/details/DanbyMishnah/page/n397/mode/1up 2:11]</ref>
All sycamines that currently grow in the [[Land of Israel]] (''Ficus sycomorus'') are believed to be invasive species, but which are now cultivated in Israel. The tree is native to [[East Africa]]. It is thought that the species was once endemic to the Land of Israel.<ref>Avi Shmida, ''MAPA's Dictionary of Plants and Flowers in Israel'', Tel Aviv 2005, pp. 473, 482, 422 (s.v. Ficus sycomorus) (Hebrew) {{OCLC|716569354}}</ref> Another species of sycamine endemic to the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia and Yemen is ''[[Ficus vasta]]''.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Amar |first1=Z. |title=Mittuv Yosef – Yosef Tobi Jubilee Volume, The Jews of Yemen: History and Culture |volume=2 |page=15 |year=2011 |editor-last=Ayelet Oettinger |editor-last2=Danny Bar-Maoz |chapter=The Yemenite Commentary of Rabbi Nathan, President of the Academy, on the Identification of Flora in the Mishnah |place=Haifa |publisher=[[University of Haifa]] (Center for the Study of Jewish Culture in Spain and in Islamic Countries) |language=he |oclc=713933314 |last2=Kapah |first2=E. |author-link1=Zohar Amar}}, citing J.R.I. Wood (1997), ''A Handbook of the Yemen Flora'', Aylesbury, UK</ref>
==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=Note}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{eastons|wstitle=Sycamine tree}}
[[Category:Trees]]
[[Category:Plants in the Bible]]
[[Category:Flora of Israel]]
[[Category:Flora of Palestine (region)]]
[[Category:Fruit trees]]
[[Category:New Testament words and phrases]]
[[Category:Edible fruits]]
[[Category:Ficus]]
[[Category:Plant common names]]