Prunus ursina, Bear's Plum,
Hebrew: שזיף הדב, Arabic: خوخ الدب

Scientific name:  Prunus ursina Kotschy
Common name:  Bear's Plum
Hebrew name:  שזיף הדב
Arabic name:  خوخ الدب
Family:  Rosaceae, ורדיים

Израиль Дикие цветы и растения родной

Life form:  Phanerophyte, tree
Spinescence:  Stems
Leaves:  Alternate, entire, dentate or serrate
Flowers:  White, pink
Flowering Period:   March, April
Habitat:   Mediterranean maquis and forest
Distribution:  Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:  Mediterranean
Summer shedding:  Perennating

Prunus ursina, Bear's Plum, שזיף הדב, Israel, Native plants, Botany, Palestine


Derivation of the botanical name:
Prunus, Latin prūnus, Greek προῦνον prounon; plum tree.
ursina, ursus, a bear, referring to one of a bear's favorite foods; of the bear.
The Hebrew Name: שזיף borrowed by the Greeks: zizyphon, whence Late Latin zizyphus (=jujube tree). According to folk etymology the word שזיף was regarded as a derivative of the base שזף (=to blacken, become sunburnt), and used in the sense of ‘plum’, in allusion to the blackish color of the plum.
  • The standard author abbreviation Kotschy is used to indicate Carl Georg Theodor Kotschy (1813 – 1866), an Austrian botanist and explorer.