"كتيّب سوريا (بما في ذلك فلسطين). لندن: إدارة استخبارات الأركان البحرية، يونيو ١٩١٩" [و‎‎٢‎٢‎٧] (٧٣٨/٤٥٨)

JUDAEA
447
Jahalin country and, just previous to the war, some
preliminary work had been done by an Americari company
and a metalled road from Hebron to the oil district was in
process of construction.
Flora. —Of woods, in the strict sense, there are none in
Judaea. Apart from olive groves of considerable extent,
trees of various kinds are (or were) only to be found in a very
scattered way throughout the district, and much of this growth
has now probably disappeared. The following are the trees and
shrubs most frequently met with. The oak (of which five
species are found in Judaea) is pretty generally distributed,
but is more frequent in the north than in the south. The
most common variety is the evergreen, with prickly leaves,
of scrub growth. The poplar and willow are very numerous
along the water-courses. The cypress is planted in towns and
cemeteries. The pine (Pintos Pinea, L.) is occasionally found,
but is more common in the districts further to the north.
The palm is confined to the maritime areas, notably round
Gaza and Jaffa. The terebinth, which often grows to a great
size in rocky places and on hill-sides, is common in the districts
N. and W. of Jerusalem, some unusually fine specimens being
found in Wadi es-Sant. The walnut is fairly common, usually
near springs. The sycomore fig, a fine tree producing edible
but poor dry fruit, is found in many parts, especially in and
about towns. A very fine specimen grows just below the
Pool of Siloam, near Jerusalem. The gum acacia is the
characteristic and most striking tree of the wadis west of the
Dead Sea south of ‘Ain Jidi, notably of Wadi es-Seyyal.
The most common shrubs are the hawthorn, of various
lands, mostly thorny, in the mountain region ; the tamarisk
of the variety Tamarix Jordanis, along the banks of the lower
Jordan; and the white broom, in the valley of the Jordan
and its affluent wadis.
Fauna. —Wild animals of the more formidable kind are no
longer found in this district. The ibex or wild goat haunts
the hills and the eastern and southern desert-region towards
the Dead Sea, notably about the wadis Qumran, Sideir, and