Slide 1: Hort 4000 Spring 2005 Plant Symbolism By Gus Tassara
Slide 2: Symbolism Something that represents or stands for something else by association, resemblance, or convention, especially a material object used to represent something invisible.
Slide 3: Theopharastus (371-286) BC Described about 500 different plant species Roman Empire 8th BC to 5th Century 1,300-1,400 Different plant species were known Dark Ages 5th to 13th Century The age of faith. Little advancement? Horticulture science Timeline Today Renaissance 14th to 16th Century Botanical work for medicinal purposes Voyages of discovery Basis of Systematics (17th and 18th Century) Binary Nomenclature. Scientific Societies Horticulture Societies (19th Century)
Slide 4: Botany and Plant Symbolism “Modern professional botanists tend to think of plant folklore in terms of interesting, but not very relevant.” “Our future botanical studies will benefit if we remember that folklore, like charity, begins at home, and we see it as an important traditional facet of our own culture, with a rightful place in the background to all our thinking.” J.F.M.Cannon Botanical Society of the British Isles President,
Slide 5: Ethnobotany ● Ethnobotany is the study of how people of a particular culture and region make of use of indigenous plants. Ethnobotanists explore how plants are used for such things as food, shelter, medicine, clothing, hunting, and religious ceremonies.
Slide 6: Ethnobotany and Medicine “The ancient magical reputation of plants still lingers on in present-day popular beliefs and medicine” “Some ritual European plants have already found their way into mainstream medicine. Ancient Egyptians chewed willow bark to relieve fever and headaches. Modern scientists discovered the bark contains Salicylic acid which in turn led to the invention of aspirin .” J. Owen National Geographic News 2004
Slide 7: Architecture Acanthus. Member of the Acanthaceacea family. Genus Acanthus In Greece 2 BC the Acanthus was a clear reference to life emerging from a grave. It was not initially a reference to resurrection in a Christian sense, but in the sense that life is cyclical.
Slide 8: Temple of Olympian Zeus Athens Greece 2th century BC
Slide 9: Photo by Chuck LaChiusa
Slide 10: Palm trees ● Signifies victory and rejoicing In Christianity, it signifies righteousness, resurrection, and martyrdom based on Christ's entry into Jerusalem where Palm branches were laid before Him on his path. ●
Slide 11: Colonial Architecture Pineapple Ananas comosus Symbol of hospitality Colonial Williamsburg Lord Dunmore Stringshire Scotland 1777 Folly 37-foot tall Photos: www.history.org
Slide 12: Cemetery Symbols Ivy Lily Immortality, Friendship, Faithfulness. Associated with the virgin Mary photos: www.udayton.edu
Slide 13: The War of Roses(1455-85) Houses of York (white rose) Lancaster (red rose) Henry Tudor married into the House of York. This personal union ended the conflict, and the dynasty, the Tudors, emerge Henry claimed to unify in himself the the two rival sides. He chose as his symbol a rose with both red and white petals. Wood carving on pillar at Oxford Cathedral
Slide 14: Religion and Plant Symbolism Flowers are included in works of art not only because they are pretty and decorative, but also because they had a particular meaning. The symbolism of flowers was used especially in medieval and renaissance paintings and tapestries to reinforce the message of the main subject.
Slide 15: Fleur-de-lis Louis VII of France dreamed of Irises before setting out on the Crusades in 1137 and considered them to be a sign, and therefore adopted the flower as his emblem. It became known in France as the Fleur de Louis. They were also popularized in England by Edward III, although they were dropped as a national standard during the Napoleonic Wars. Adopted by Christianity as a symbol of the trinity.
Slide 16: The Fleur-de-lis Bouges cathedral, 15th century www.heraldica.org
Slide 17: Photo by: Jeffrey S. Foster
Slide 18: Mary Flowers Flowers associated with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, are deeply rooted with ancient folklore. Used in monastery gardens as a place to pray and meditate. When Christianity spread from land to land they also spread this type of garden.
Slide 19: Cloister Garden Lincoln Cathedral England St. Benedict Monastery Bahia Brazil Jeronimos Monastery Belem Lisbon
Slide 20: Book of Hours ● This XVI Century French book of Hours illustration represents Mary as an immaculate Virgin surrounded with biblical symbols. www.mgardens.org
Slide 21: Holy Cards www.mgardens.or g
Slide 23: Adoration of the Shepherds (1483) Hugo van der goes
Slide 24: The Annunciation Fra Filippo Lippi (1448) National Gallery London
Slide 25: Annunciation Fillipo Lippi (1450) Galeria Doria Rome
Slide 26: The Annunciation and the Two Saints Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi 1333 Florence Italy
Slide 28: Mary Gardens Today www.mgardens.or g
Slide 29: Can you guess the name ???? The Greeks called it the “Flower of the Flowers” A flower of exquisite beauty it represent purity and innocence , and is frequently associated with the Virgin Mary, herself a symbol of purity.
Slide 30: Lilium candidum
Slide 31: Courtship and Marriage “ For a girl who had several prospective husbands to choose from there were a number of practices which would indicate which one would be most suitable. A common and widespread tradition was to pick as many ..........as she had prospects, give each a name, and tuck them into her shirt. At the end of the day she would taken them out, and whichever had survived the ordeal would be the future husband.”
Slide 32: Bachelor Buttons Centaurea cyanus L.
Slide 33: To the Greeks, the...........was dyed by the blood of the goddess Aphrodite Considered the queen of flowers, they are an ancient and universal symbol of the incarnation. Flower symbol of England
Slide 34: Rose Rosa spp
Slide 35: Fruit “As the .....tree among of the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with a great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.” (Song of Solomon 2:3) Forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden
Slide 36: Apple Pyrus malus
Slide 37: Tree According to an old English proverb, she who wears ....... flowers will never wear a wedding ring. To send one's promised partner a sprig of ...... was considered a delicate way of breaking off an engagement.
Slide 38: Lilac Syringa spp
Slide 39: References Vickery, Roy Plant Lore studies Botanical Society of the British Isles 1984 Winifred Walker All the Plants of the Bible Lutterworth Press London 1958 Michael Jordan Plants of Mystery and Magic Blandford UK 1997 Laura C. Martin The Folklore of trees a nd Shrubs The Globe Pequot Press Connecticut
Slide 40: References www.mgardens.org http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/bonline/e01/01.htm