Rose of Sharon is a common name that has been applied to several different species of flowering plants that are valued in different parts of the world. It is also a biblical expression, though the identity of the plant referred to is unclear and is disputed among biblical scholars. In neither case does it refer to actual roses, although one of the species it refers to in modern usage is a member of Rosaceae. The deciduous flowering shrub known as the rose of Sharon is a member of the mallow family which is distinct from the family Rosaceae. The name's colloquial application has been used as an example of the lack of precision of common names, which can potentially cause confusion. "Rose of Sharon" has become a frequently used catch phrase in poetry and lyrics.
Biblical origins
The name "rose of Sharon" first appears in Hebrew in the Tanakh. In the Shir Hashirim , the speaker says "I am the rose of Sharon, a rose of the valley". The Hebrew phrase חבצלת השרון was translated by the editors of the King James version of the Bible as "rose of Sharon"; however, previous translations had rendered it simply as "the flower of the field". Contrariwise, the Hebrew word ḥăḇatzeleṯ occurs two times in the scriptures: in the Song, and in, which reads, "the desert shall bloom like the rose." The word is translated "rose" in the King James version, but is rendered variously as "lily", "jonquil" and "crocus". Varying scholars have suggested that the biblical "rose of Sharon" may be one of the following plants:
A crocus: "a kind of crocus growing as a lily among the brambles" or a crocus that grows in the coastal plain of Sharon ;
A tulip: "a bright red tulip-like flower... today prolific in the hills of Sharon" ;
*Tulipa agenensis, the Sharon tulip, a species of tulip suggested by a few botanists or
*Tulipa montana
A lily: Lilium candidum, more commonly known as the Madonna lily, a species of lily suggested by some botanists, though likely in reference to the lilies of the valley mentioned in the second part of Song of Solomon 2:1.
Narcissus
According to an annotation of by the translation committee of the New Revised Standard Version, "rose of Sharon" is a mistranslation of a more general Hebrew word for crocus. Etymologists have tentatively linked the biblical חבצלת to the words בצל beṣel, meaning 'bulb', and חמץ ḥāmaṣ, which is understood as meaning either 'pungent' or 'splendid'. A possible interpretation for the biblical reference is Pancratium maritimum, which blooms in the late summer just above the high-tide mark. The Modern Hebrew name for this flower is חבצלת or חבצלת החוף. Some identify the beach lily with the "rose of Sharon" mentioned in the Song of Songs, but not all scholars accept this. Recently, some scholars have translated ḥăḇaṣṣeleṯ as "a budding bulb" in consideration of the genealogical research of multilingual versions and lexicons.
Modern usage
The name "rose of Sharon" is also commonly applied to several plants, all originating outside the Levant and not likely to have been the plant from the Bible:
Hypericum calycinum, an evergreen flowering shrub native to southeast Europe and southwest Asia
