Reeds, papyrus and bullrushes

 

The Hula Nature Reserve contains three types of tall wetland plants – reeds, papyrus and bullrushes. There are also reeds and bullrushes in the Agamon HaHuleh Lakes, but only a small amount of papyrus.

 

The common reed (kaneh matzu in Hebrew) is the most common plant found at the water edge of the Jordan River and its reserves. It is a tall plant, reaching up to 20 feet in height. It is usually green in the summer, in contrast to most other vegetation which looks dried up at this time of year.  When in full bloom in the spring it has a silky crown. It is long, straight and hollow, and was often used in the past as a measuring rod. It is still used to make flutes. Although often made of reeds, the flute is not a "reed instrument" in which the sound is made by blowing through a reed.

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The papyrus plant (Cyperus papyrus) (papirus in Hebrew) is a tall perennial that grows to a height of 15 feet. It dies in the winter, although its stems do not rot. This plant once grew extensively in Israel’s swamps and rivers, but is now found only in the Hula Valley, on the northern banks of Lake Kinneret, and a few places in the Golan Heights. It accounts for much of the peat of the Hula Valley.

 

One of the main uses of papyrus in the past was for making paper. Strips were made from its peeled stalk and glued together to make sheets. This technique began in Egypt in about 3,000 BCE and spread throughout the ancient world. Nowadays, papyrus is almost extinct from Egypt. More recently, Arab villagers used to collect the papyrus stalks from the Hula swamps to make baskets.

 

Another plant found throughout Israel is the Lesser Bulrush (typha domingenesis) (suf motzu in Hebrew). The rhizome remains in the soil and from it grows its long straight leaves, up to 2 meters in length. The plant flowers from June to October on a single leafless stem. The flowers are brown and arranged in a thick spiral at the top of the flower spike, almost to its tip. This dense inflorescence looks almost like a broom. The plant's leaves can be used to make baskets and mats.

 

There are interesting connections of these plants to the Biblical story of the Israelites in Egypt. There were reeds on the banks of the Nile and this was reported by Pharaoh when he described his dream to Joseph (Genesis 41:18). Moses’ ark was rescued from the reeds on the River Nile by Pharaoh’s daughter (Exodus 2.5). Papyrus material is called gomé in the Bible and Moses’ ark was made of this (Exodus 2:3). After leaving Egypt, the Israelites crossed the Yam Suf. This is sometimes translated as the Reed Sea or Sea of Reeds, although given its Hebrew name it was probably a body of water full of bullrushes and not reeds. The Reed Sea is sometimes identified with the Red Sea, which is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, but bulrushes do not grow in saltwater and this identification is probably in error.