MYRTLE

[Heb., hadhasʹ].

The myrtle (Myrtus communis) grows as either a shrub or a tree and is common in Palestine and Lebanon, growing well in stony soil. It is capable of reaching a height of thirty feet (9.1 meters) but is usually found as a shrub of from two to four feet (.6 to 1.2 meters) in height. An evergreen, it is quite bushy in branch structure, has thick, shiny, dark-green leaves, and blossoms with clusters of fragrant white flowers that mature into blue-black berries. Almost the entire plant has a fragrant spicy oil used in perfumes. The berries, though aromatic, are edible. The myrtle is found today particularly in the Mount Carmel region and in Galilee but also grows in the Jerusalem area, as it evidently did at the time of Zechariah’s vision recorded at Zechariah 1:8-11, 16.

Fragrant branches of myrtle were used along with the branches of other trees to cover the temporary outdoor huts or booths used by the Hebrews during the ‘festival of booths.’ (Neh. 8:14, 15) In the restoration prophecies the myrtle tree with its fragrance and beauty is foretold to grow in place of the stinging nettle and to spring up even in the wilderness.—Isa. 41:19; 55:13.

The name of Esther, wife of Persian King Ahasuerus, was “Hadassah” in Hebrew and hence derived from the name of the myrtle tree.—Esther 2:7.