Barukh Chizhik,(1884-1955) an Erez Israel naturalist, was born in Tomashpol, Ukraine. He studied agriculture in the Crimea and the Caucasus, specializing in gardening and subtropical crops. He was a founding member of the Po'alei Zion movement in Russia. In 1906 Chizhik went to Erez Israel and settled in the moshavah Kinneret. He became head gardener for the Turkish authorities in Damascus in 1915. In 1922 he was appointed director of the Zionist Executive's agricultural museum, and taught citrus cultivation. Acquiring a farm in Herzliyyah in 1932, he worked on improving strains of fruit trees and other crops. He published articles in agricultural journals, and his books include the encyclopedia of flora Ozar ha-Zemahim (1956), and Zimhi'el (1930), a collection of popular articles and legends on the flora of Palestine.

קדם שער: אגדות צמחיאל. מנוקד. "התמונות: פרח נעמן, כרכם, אם החטה וצמחיאל נעשו בידי ש[מואל] חרובי".