ABSTRACT
The sycomore fig (Ficus sycomorus L.) (Figure 1) is one of the most ancient fruit trees in human history. In the countries bordering the eastern and southern shores of the Mediterranean Sea — especially in Egypt and Israel — it was grown since time immemorial for its shade, timber, and fruit. Theophrastus 1 also mentions Cyprus, Rhodes, and Crete. Carbonized sycomore fruits were encountered in ancient Egyptian tombs dating from the 1st Dynasty, more than 3000 years B.C. 2 Dry fruits were found as offerings in Pharaonic graves, from the Middle and New Kingdoms (2000 to 1000 B.C.). 3 In Biblical times the sycomore tree was already widespread and well known in Israel. The phrase “as the sycomore trees that are in the lowland for abundance” appears in the Bible three times (I Kings: 10, 27; II Chronicles: 1, 15, and 9, 27) indicating the profusion and wide distribution of the tree in Israel. In ancient Israel the sycomore tree was held in esteem mainly for its timber and less for its juicy fruit, on account of other and better fruit trees growing in the area; only at times of foreign invasion, when many settlements were destroyed and the population became impoverished, were sycomore fruits used more extensively, especially by the poor people. In desert-dry Egypt, which was always very short on trees, the wood and fruit of the sycomore were highly valued.
