A Glossary of Ornamental Plants in the Agricultural and Botanical Treatises from Al-Andalus


The following trees, plants and flowers are mentioned in the Andalusi Books of Filāḥa as being planted for ornamental purposes in gardens and orchards, apart from any medicinal, culinary or other value they may have had. Authors are noted only when they specifically mention this ornamental value. The ‘Umdat refers to the botanical work called ‘Umdat al-ṭabīb fī ma‘rifat al-nabāt li-kull labīb attributed to Abū ’l-Khayr al-Ishbīlī. This glossary has been complied from information given in García Sánchez, E. and Hernández Bermejo, J. E. ‘Ornamental Plants in Agricultural and Botanical Treatises from Al-Andalus’, in Middle East Garden Traditions: Unity and Diversity, ed. Michel Conan. Dumbarton Oaks, Harvard University Press, 2007, pp. 75 – 93.

The glossary is ordered by both Arabic name and by modern scientific name.

Arabic name
Common name
Scientific name
Authors
allohanta (Med. Castilian)
oleaster
Elaeagnus angustifolia
Ibn Baṣṣāl
azādarkhat
chinaberry tree, Persian lilac
Melia azederach
Ibn Baṣṣāl, Ibn al-'Awwām, Abū 'l-Khayr
bābūnaj, uqḥuwān
chamomiles, daisies, etc.
Tanacetum, Anthemis, Artemisia, etc.
Ibn Luyūn, 'Umdat
banafsaj
violet, pansy
Viola sp., V. tricolor, V. odorata, V. riviniana, V. reichenbanchiana
Ibn Baṣṣāl, Ibn Luyūn, 'Umdat
barbārīs, bārbaris
barberry
Berberis vulgaris
Abū 'l-Khayr
dhādī
Judas tree
Cercis siliquastrum
Abū 'l-Khayr, Ibn al-'Awwām, 'Umdat
diflà
oleander
Nerium oleander
Abū 'l-Khayr, Ibn Luyūn, Ibn al-'Awwām
ghubayrā'
service tree
Sorbus domestica
Ibn al-'Awwām from Al-Ṭighnārī
ḥabaq
basil
Ocimum basilicum
Abū 'l-Khayr, Ibn Luyūn, Ibn al-'Awwām
ḥabb al-mulūk, qarāṣiyā
gean, wild cherry
Prunus avium
Al-Ṭighnārī, Ibn al-'Awwām
ḥabl al-masākīn, binka
periwinkle
Vinca pervinca, V. difformis, V. minor
Ibn al-'Awwām,'Umdat
ḥinnā'
henna
Lawsonia inermis
Ibn Baṣṣāl, Ibn al-'Awwām, Abū 'l-Khayr, Al-Ṭighnārī, Ibn Luyūn
ijjāṣ, 'uyūn al-baqar
plum
Prunus domestica
iklīl al-jabal
rosemary
Rosmarinus officinalis
'Umdat
janà aḥmar, maṭrūniya
strawberry tree, arbutus
Arbutus unedo
Abū 'l-Khayr, Ibn al-'Awwām
jullanār
wild pomegranate
Punica granatum
Ibn al-'Awwām, Al-Ṭighnārī
kabar, kabbār
caper bush
Cappris ovata, C. spinosa
Ibn al-'Awwām
karm, dāliya
vine, grapevine
Vitis vinifera
Abū 'l-Khayr, Ibn al-'Awwām, Anonymous Andalusi, Ibn Luyūn
khayrī
wallflower, stocks
Erysimum cheiri; Mathiola incana; Mathiola sp.; Malcolomia littorea; Hesperis laciniata
Calendar of Cordoba, Ibn al-'Awwām, Anonymous Andalusi, Ibn Hajjāj, Ibn Baṣṣāl, Ibn Luyūn
khayrī al-mā'
fireweed, willowherb
Epilobium sp.; E. hirsutum, E. angustifolium
Ibn al-'Awwām, 'Umdat
khayzarān
butcher's broom
Ruscus aculeatus
Ibn al-'Awwām
khiṭmī
hollyhock
Alcea rosea
Ibn al-'Awwām, Ibn Luyūn
khubbāzà, mulūkhīyā
mallows, marsh mallow
Malva sp., Lavatera sp.
'Umdat, Abū 'l-Khayr
khuzāma, ustūkhūdhus
lavender
Lavandula sp., L. vera, L. latifolia, L. multifida
Ibn al-'Awwām, 'Umdat
līm, laymūn
lime tree / lemon
Citrus limetta; C. aurantifolia; C. limon
Ibn al-'Awwām
maḥlab
mahaleb cherry
Prunus mahaleb
mays
hackberry tree
Celtis australis
Abū 'l-Khayr, Ibn al-'Awwām, Ibn Luyūn
mushtahà
whitebeam
Sorbus aria
Ibn al-'Awwām
nabq
lotus tree
Ziziphus lotus
Ibn al-'Awwām
nakhl
date palm
Phoenix dactylifera
Al-Ṭighnārī, Ibn al-'Awwām
nāranj
sour orange
Citrus aurantium
Ibn al-'Awwām
narjis
narcissus
Narcissus sp.
Anonymous Andalusi, Ibn Luyūn, Ibn al-'Awwām, Ibn Hajjāj
narjis abyaḍ, bahār
white narcissus
Narcissus papyraceus, N. tazetta
as for narjis or narcissus
narjis aṣfar, nisrīn
yellow narcissus
Narcissus jonquilla, N. serotinus
as for narjis or narcissus
narjis buwāqī
daffodil
Narcissus pseudonarcissus
as for narjis or narcissus
narjis qādūsī
poet's daffodil
Narcissus poeticus
as for narjis or narcissus
nasham
elm
Ulmus minor
Abū 'l-Khayr, Ibn al-'Awwām
nīlūfar
water lily
Nymphaea sp.
Abū 'l-Khayr
nīlūfar abyaḍ
white water lily
Nymphaea alba
Ibn al-'Awwām, Anonymous Andalusi, 'Umdat
nīlūfar aḥmar
lotus, sacred water lily
Nelumbo nucifera
'Umdat
nīlūfar aṣfar
yellow water lily
Nuphar luteum
Ibn al-'Awwām, Anonymous Andalusi
qissūs (Romance yidhra)
ivy
Hedera helix
Ibn al-'Awwām, Abū 'l-Khayr
qulqās, qulqāṣ
taro
Colocasia esculenta
Abū 'l-Khayr, 'Umdat
rand, ghār
bay laurel, bay tree
Laurus nobilis
Ibn al-'Awwām
rayḥān, ās
myrtle
Myrtus communis
Ibn al-'Awwām, Ibn Luyūn
rummān
cultivated pomegranate
Punica granatum cultivars
ṣafṣāf, gharab, sālij, khilāf
willow, white willow
Salix alba
Ibn Wāfid, Ibn al-'Awwām
ṣanawbar
stone pine
Pinus pinea
Ibn Wāfid, Ibn al-'Awwām
sarw, sarwal
cypress
Cupressus sempervirens
Ibn Wāfid, Ibn al-'Awwām
sawsan aḥmar
gladiolus
Gladiolus sp.
Abū 'l-Khayr, Ibn al-'Awwām
sawsan asmanjūnī
iris
Iris sp.
Abū 'l-Khayr, Ibn al-'Awwām
sawsan, sawsān
lily
Lilium candidum
Abū 'l-Khayr, Ibn al-'Awwām, 'Umdat, Ibn Luyūn
ṭakhsh
yew
Taxus baccata
Abū 'l-Khayr
unnāb, zufayzaf, zifzif
jujube
Ziziphus jujuba
Abū 'l-Khayr
utrujj
citron
Citrus medica
Ibn al-'Awwām
ward
rose
Rosa sp., mainly Rosa canina, R. gallica, R. sempervirens, R. damascaena
Al-Ṭighnārī, Ibn al-'Awwām, Ibn Luyūn, Ibn Baṣṣāl, Calendar of Cordoba, Ibn Hajjāj, Abū 'l-Khayr
ward al-zīna
China hibiscus, China rose
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
Ibn Wāfid, Abū 'l-Khayr, Ibn al-'Awwām, 'Umdat
yāsamīn aṣfar
yellow jasmine
Jasminum nudiflorum
as for white jasmine
yāsamīn, yasmīn
white jasmine
Jasminum officinale, J. sambac
Ibn Baṣṣāl, Ibn al-'Awwām, Al-Ṭighnārī, Ibn Hajjāj, Abū 'l-Khayr, Ibn Luyūn
za'farān
saffron
Crocus sativus
Ibn Baṣṣāl
zanbū', istinbūnī
grapefruit
Citrus grandis
Ibn al-'Awwām
za'rūr
azarole
Crataegus azarolus
Ibn al-'Awwām
zayyān
wild jasmine
Jasminum fruticans