Arabick Roots

Arabick roots, literally!

Flowers and trees originally from the East are now a common sight in European gardens. Travellers to the Levant were delighted by what they found there, and couldn't wait to bring it back.

Edward Pococke the Senior, the talented Arabist translator, developed a love for cedar, plane and fig trees during his years in Aleppo, Syria. He brought all three species back to Oxford in 1640, where he planted them. Astonishingly, the three trees survive today.