Bible Encyclopedias
Sycamine Tree

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

sik´a - mı̄n , ( συκάμινος , sukáminos ( Luke 17:6 )): This is generally accepted as the black mulberry tree (Morus nigra; Natural Order, Urlicaceae ), known in Arabic as tût shrâmı̂ , "the Damascus mulberry," a fine tree which grows to the height of 30 ft. It produces the dark blood-red mulberry juice referred to in 1 Macc 6:34 (μόρον , móron ), "the blood of ... mulberries," which was shown to the elephants of the Syrians. The white mulberry, M. alba , has white and less juicy fruit, and it is cultivated largely for the sake of its leaves with which the silkworms of the Lebanon are fed.