From the autumnal wonders of the shoot

By: Amots Dafni and Saleh Akel Khativ

The columnar and the shoot

In eastern Samaria in the area of ​​Tamon, the villagers predict the future amount of rain according to the intensity of the blooming of the jurassic cypress compared to the blooming of the primroses. A lot of autumn leaves and a few primroses - a blessed year; A little autumn and a lot of cyclamen - an alternating year, a humid month and a wet month. A lot of primroses and a little autumnal indicate a ripe year. According to Ephraim the Reuveni, in the Arab villages around Jerusalem they say "on the day that the first rain falls from above, this (summer) shoots from below."

And Jacob Fichman already stood for this in his poem dedicated to this plant (he calls it by its old name "Bar Yore"): "I am afraid because I came / also the first time / the sound of a gun because I heard it / I will not eat it again to sleep." Baruch Tzizik tells in his wonderful book "Zemachiel" (dedicated to the legends of the plants of the Land of Israel) about the connection between the autumn blossoms and the coming of the rain: "Every year, when the summer in the northern countries passes and the fierce winter comes, the birds will gather together in order to leave the land of their residence And wander to the warm lands, every year the Nahalites felt the coming of winter and wandered.

And the day will come and they will reach the Land of Israel and behold the land is dry and desolate and the sweet flowers have not yet been seen. And the Nahalites will miss the flowers and the grass very much and will wake up the onions and the tubers lying in the bosom of the earth with their chirping sound, and the tuber of the autumn was the first to hear their voice and split the crust of the earth and burst forth with its flower." .

In Israel there are about twenty-five species of plants that bloom, without leaves, at the end of summer before the onset of the rains. It is customary to call them by the kibbutz name "the harbingers of autumn". This title is appropriate for the unique flowering season, but it does not in any way guarantee the nature of the next year, the abundance of flowering actually reflects the nature of the previous year. Even if we honor the stoner with the honorable title of "prophet of rain", as Yehuda Amichai called him. The appearance of the stone does indeed guarantee that the rain is near, but there is no hint of the expected amount of rain. He is not a true prophet but, at most, a faithful record of past events.

Candles, witches and poisons

The witch Medea lived in the region of Colchis, the land of the Golden Fleece, which is in the north of Turkey on the coast of the Black Sea. She was famous as a pharmacist of poisons and potions and, among other things, used to use the poisonous tubers of this plant. The foreign name of the genus Colchicum came to indicate the birthplace of that famous witch.

The cocoon of the sycamore resembles a clay candle and is extremely poisonous, therefore it is associated with witchcraft, hence its Arabic name "the witch's clay candle" (Sarajat il Eulah, Sarjat al-Ghoula). The Arabic name is reminiscent of the Aramaic word "Sharga" meaning candle or lamp. It is likely that the Arabic name was influenced by the European tradition. Satwanit species were widely used in medicine while taking the risk that an overdose could cause poisoning. Winter turmeric whose tuber is suitable for eating (after roasting) is called "the turmeric of the people" (Shuchem el nas, Shuhim al-Nas) while the poisonous autumn turmeric is the "snake turmeric" (Shuchem el Haya, Shuhim al-Hayya).

From: Dafni, A. and S. Khatib (2017). Plants demons and wonders. New World Publishing. Tel Aviv.