On his return he found the plant uprooted and the ass dead. He took the plant home to his mother, as it was regarded of no value during the harvest. Rachel saw the plant and asked for some of it for herself. Leah agreed to her request on condition that she could sleep with Jacob that night. As a result she gave birth to her fifth son, Issachar.
Biblical commentators vary in their interpretations.
The Torah Temimah explains the Talmud as referring to aromatic plants for which a berachah must be said. Rashi regards it as the jasmine, Hertz as a love-apple. However he does not know why it promotes conception. Two points emerge. The plant was considered an aphrodisiac, which seems to originate with the root of the word in Hebrew, dod, which means love, friendship, as in lechah dodi, and possibly through its shape.