Ceratonia Siliqua - Cultural Significance

Cultural Significance

The Jewish Talmud features a parable of altruism, commonly known as "Honi and the Carob Tree", in which a carob tree takes 70 years to bear fruit; the planter did not benefit from planting, but did so in the interest of future generations.

In reality, the fruiting age of carob trees varies: cuttings taken from fruit-bearing trees may bear fruit in as few as three to four years, and seedlings grown in ideal conditions may fruit within six to eight years. Although it is native to moderately dry climates, two or three summers irrigation will greatly aid the development, hasten fruiting, and increase the yield."

In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the Prodigal Son, having squandered his inheritance, wishes that he could also partake in eating the pigs' diet of carob pods.