myrtle

Everyday

1. A myrtle is an evergreen shrub with shiny leaves and small white or pink flowers, often grown in gardens. tree →
2. (old use) In old stories the myrtle was a plant sacred to love. tree →

In the lessons

in stories a garden plant named among flowers and trees; in the lessons it is just a plant name

Examples

• Her favourite plants were the myrtle and the rose. tree →
• The myrtle branch was carried as a sign of peace. tree →

Note

nothing for maths.

In Jewish tradition

A sweet-smelling evergreen tree that grew in Israel. It was a sign of blessing, as when God promises to plant it in the wilderness.

Interpretation. Myrtle branches are one of the four species waved on Sukkot, and myrtle is also used in the spice box at Havdalah. In Zechariah's vision, the rider among the myrtles is read as an angel who watches over Israel.

Examples

• And the man that stood among the myrtle-trees answered and said: 'These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.' (Prophets ZEC.1.10, JPS 1917) tree →
• I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia-tree, and the myrtle, and the oil-tree; I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane-tree, and the larch together; (Prophets ISA.41.19, JPS 1917) tree →
• I saw in the night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle-trees that were in the bottom; and behind him there were horses, red, sorrel, and white. (Prophets ZEC.1.8, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

nothing for maths.