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271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
18
CHAPTER
II.
PRIMITIVE
AND
SAVAGE
NOTIONS
RESPECTING
PLANTS
The
descent
of
the
human
race
from
a
tree--however
whimsical
such
a
notion
may
seem--was
a
belief
once
received
as
sober
fact,
and
even
now-a-days
can
be
traced
amongst
the
traditions
of
many
races.[1]
This
primitive
idea
of
man's
creation
probably
originated
in
the
myth
of
Yggdrasil,
the
Tree
of
the
Universe,[2]
around
which
so
much
legendary
lore
has
clustered,
and
for
a
full
explanation
of
which
an
immense
amount
of
learning
has
been
expended,
although
the
student
of
mythology
has
never
yet
been
able
to
arrive
at
any
definite
solution
on
this
deeply
intricate
subject.
Without
entering
into
the
many
theories
proposed
in
connection
with
this
mythical
tree,
it
no
doubt
represented
the
life-giving
forces
of
nature.
It
is
generally
supposed
to
have
been
an
ash
tree,
but,
as
Mr.
Conway[3]
points
out,
"there
is
reason
to
think
that
through
the
confluence
of
traditions
other
sacred
trees
blended
with
it.
Thus,
while
the
ash
bears
no
fruit,
the
Eddas
describe
the
stars
as
the
fruit
of
Yggdrasil."
Mr.
Thorpe,[4]
again,
considers
it
identical
with
the
"Robur
Jovis,"
or
sacred
oak
of
Geismar,
destroyed
by
Boniface,
and
the
Irminsul
of
the
Saxons,
the
Columna
Universalis,
"the
terrestrial
tree
of
offerings,
an
emblem
of
the
whole
world."
At
any
rate
the
tree
of
the
world,
and
the
greatest
of
all
trees,
has
long
been
identified
in
the
northern
mythology
as
the
ash
tree,[5]
a
fact
which
accounts
for
the
weird
character
assigned
to
it
amongst
all
the
Teutonic
and
Scandinavian
nations,
frequent
illustrations
of
which
will
occur
in
the
present
volume.
Referring
to
the
descent
of
man
from
the
tree,
we
may
quote
the
Edda,
according
to
which
all
mankind
are
descended
from
the
ash
and
the
elm.
The
story
runs
that
as
Odhinn
and
his
two
brothers
were
journeying
over
the
earth
they
discovered
these
two
stocks
"void
of
future,"
and
breathed
into
them
the
power
of
life[6]:
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
