1317 in an encyclopedia by Matthaeus Silvaticus who wrote that the "mahaleb" is the kernel seed of the fruit of both domesticated and wild cherry trees in Arabic countries. Another early record in Latin is in a medical-botany book by Ioannis Mesuae in 1479 spelled almahaleb (where "al-" is the Arabic definite article). In 1593 the Latin botanist Carolus Clusius spelled it mahaleb. Today its cultivation and use is largely restricted to the region that in the 19th and earlier centuries formed the Ottoman Empire. Syria is the main exporting country. References External links mahaleb Flora of Europe Flora of Western Asia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Fruit trees