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