Rose of Sharon
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The Rose of Sharon is a flower of uncertain identity mentioned in English language translations of the Bible. The name first appeares in 1611, when it was used in the King James Version of the Bible. According to an annotation at Song of Solomon 2.1 by the translation committee of the New Revised Standard Version, this is a mistranslation of the Hebrew word for "crocus". Different scholars have suggested that the biblical "Rose of Sharon" is one of the following plants:
- A "kind of crocus" ("Sharon", Harper's Bible Dictionary) or a "crocus that grows in the coastal plain of Sharon" (New Oxford Annotated Bible);
- Tulipa montana, "a bright red tulip-like flower . . . today prolific in the hills of Sharon" ("rose", Harper's Bible Dictionary);
- Tulipa agenensis, the Sharon tulip, a species of tulip suggested by a few botanists; or
- Lilium candidum, more commonly known as the Madonna lily, a species of lily suggested by some botanists, though likely in reference to the "lily of the valleys" mentioned in the second part of Song of Solomon 2.1.
Today, the name is also commonly applied to two different plants, neither of which is likely to have been the plant from the Bible:
- Hypericum calycinum, an evergreen flowering shrub native to southeast Europe and southwest Asia, and the plant generally referred to in British and Australian English as "Rose of Sharon"; and
- Hibiscus syriacus, a deciduous flowering shrub native to east Asia, the plant generally referred to in American English as "Rose of Sharon" and the national flower of South Korea.
Works cited
- Crawford, P. L. "Rose", in Harper's Bible Dictionary p. 884. P. J. Achtmeiter, gen. ed. HarperSanFrancisco, 1985.
- Lapp, N. L. "Sharon", in Harper's Bible Dictionary p. 933-4.
- Scott, R. B. Y. Annotations to Song of Solomon. The New Oxford Annotated Bible p. 854 OT. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.
External link
- "Why use a scientific name?" (http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/information_about_plants/botanical_info/plant_names_and_classification) - Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney ("Rose of Sharon" cited as an example of why use of scientific names is important to avoid confusion)