Miller, Naomi F2023-05-232023-05-231995-02-012016-05-04https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/42415Aspalathus, a plant mentioned in Pliny the Elder's "Natural History," Dioscorides' "De Materia Medica," Theophrastus' "Enquiry into Plants," and Ecclesiasticus is most probably caper (Capparis sp.). It has an Akkadian linguistic cognate, supālu. Ethnobotanical, archaeobotanical, and linguistic evidence show that this plant has played a role in the ancient, but ongoing cultural tradition in the Near East.© 1995 American Schools of Oriental Research. All rights reserved. Republished here by permission of the American Schools of Oriental ResearchHistory of Art, Architecture, and ArchaeologyNear Eastern Languages and SocietiesArticle