about certain Arabian plants

[Ibrahim]

well, I've been translating an Arabic dictionary to english, and I've run into a few problems: all of which are species of trees. part of the problem is that the names of the trees in Arabic keep changing, and that makes it hard to identify species.

one notable example is a tree that the dictionary calls an "alaa'ah" (pl. alaa'; Arabic: "ألاءة"). It's pretty accurately described, but not accurately enough (the dictionary is from the 13th century). here is it's description:

1-evergreen tree
2-grows in sandy soil or in valleys.
3-bitter fruit, resembling seeds of corn (think wheat, not maize)
4-resembles Myrtles.
5-has applications in tanning (the text specifies that the leaves and "what it carries" (i.e., fruit) are the organs needed)
6-fine looking, pleasant smell
7-has a smaller almost identical cousin, called a "sulamaan" (السُّلامانُ), used traditionally as a source of natural toothbrushes (though it makes no implication it's an Arak tree (Salvadora persica).

there are pictures of what might be it, but It's called a 3aathir (العاذر), I'll attach it in the links:

http://www.moqatel.com/openshare/Beh...10.jpg_cvt.htm
http://www.thomala.com/vb/showthread.php?t=76333

my suspicion is that it is indeed a species of Salvadora, but I'm not quite sure.

so, my question is: anyone here know a thing about botany? I figured there might be a person good for this.

[rajpoot]

I don't know what that is, but it's certainly not a tree. More like a bush.

[LeftEyeNine]

I'll try to help. A colleague of mine is of Arabic origin. Hopefully I remember this thread tomorrow.

Edit: And he's a forest engineer.

[Ibrahim]

I'll try to help. A colleague of mine is of Arabic origin. Hopefully I remember this thread tomorrow.

Edit: And he's a forest engineer.

perfect!

because I now have a long list of unusual tree names: I asked my family, and none of them know. which makes sense, since some of the trees' names are either not used at all, or changed.

well, keep me updated.


EDIT: just to be sure, the tree is indeed from Arabia and/or North Africa.

[HopAlongBunny]

My google-fu failed me :(

The descriptors seem to point to some form of acacia, but there is nothing matching your examples.

[LeftEyeNine]

Could you provide pics of the plant ? I see you have some links above however you said you were not sure.

[Ibrahim]

those are the only known possible pictures. I couldn't find any that are definitely of that tree.

as mentioned, the problem is that names have changed in the last 1,300 years, so it's hard to keep track.

as to it being a bush? well, the dictionary was explicit: it is described as a tree, not a bush (Arabic then and now distinguishes the two).

making matters harder, is that the old name alaa'ah (and particularly the plural, alaa'), sounds and is written too much like aalaa', which means "blessings"...