Carob - ceratonia siligua - Luke 15:16
The round leaved tree is a carob bean or locust bean, also sometimes known
as St. John's Bread. It produces bean like pods that contain a sweet white
pith around the seeds. It is certainly the source of the husks in the parable
of the Prodigal Son. There is some doubt as to whether John the Baptist ate
the fruit of this tree or the locust insects, which are eaten roasted in
Palestine.
The Hebrew words for carob and locust were similar and may have been transposed.
