Acanthus syriacus, Syrian bear's breech,
קוציץ סורי
"Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles (Hebrew: charul) they were gathered together".
Job 30:7
(בין-שיחים ינהקו תחת חרול יספחו (איוב ל:ז
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| | Scientific name: |
| Acanthus syriacus Boiss. |
| Common name: |
| Syrian bear's breech |
| Hebrew name: |
| Kotsitz Suri, קוציץ סורי |
| Arabic name: |
| Kaff al-Deb, Shawk al-Jamal, كف الدب,شوك الجمل |
| Family: |
| Acanthaceae, קוציציים |
Date Picture Taken: April 7, 2008
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| | Life form: |
| Hemicryptophyte, a perennial plant having its overwintering buds located at the soil surface |
| Leaves: |
| Opposite, rosette, dissected, pinnate, dentate or serrate, spinescent |
| Inflorescence: |
| cyme, raceme, Spike: Unbranched, elongated, indeterminate inflorescence with sessile flowers |
| Flowers: |
| Flower spikes bearing purplish flowers |
| Plant height: |
| 40 - 180cm |
| Flowering Period: |
| March, April, May |
| Habitat: |
| Garrigue and batha (or phrygana), soft-leaved scrubland |
| Distribution: |
| Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Semi-steppe shrublands, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon |
| Chorotype: |
| Mediterranean |
| Summer shedding: |
| Perenating |
Date Picture Taken: April 7, 2008
Derivation of the botanical name:
Acanthus, acantha, ακανϑα, thorn, thistle; "ake," a sharp point, a genus of plants belonging to the natural order Acanthaceae.
syriacus, from Syria.
Bear's breech, from the size and appearance of the leaf which is very big, broad, and distinctly hairy.
- The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810–1885), a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician.
See:Acanthus mollis
The species are natives of the southern parts of Europe and the warmer parts of Asia and Africa. The best-known is Acanthus mollis, a common species throughout the Mediterranean region, having large, deeply cut, hairy, shining leaves.
In Israel we have the the Syrian acanthus and has rosette of large spiny lobed leaves. It can also be considered as one of the thistles in the Bible.
H.B.Tristram (1865) thinks that the acanthus is referred to as a "nettle": Job 30:7, "Among the bushes they brayed; under the nettles they were gathered together". And in Zephaniah 2:9: "Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the breeding of nettles and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation."
 
Date Pictures Taken: April 7, 2008
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