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271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
218
The
bright
blue
blossoms
of
the
speedwell,
which
enliven
our
wayside
hedges
in
spring-time,
are
said
to
display
in
their
markings
a
representation
of
the
kerchief
of
St
Veronica,
imprinted
with
the
features
of
Christ.
[20]
According
to
an
old
tradition,
when
our
Lord
was
on
His
way
to
Calvary,
bearing
His
Cross,
He
happened
to
pass
by
the
door
of
Veronica,
who,
beholding
the
drops
of
agony
on
His
brow,
wiped
His
face
with
a
kerchief
or
napkin.
The
sacred
features,
however,
remained
impressed
upon
the
linen,
and
from
the
fancied
resemblance
of
the
blossom
of
the
speedwell
to
this
hallowed
relic,
the
plant
was
named
Veronica.
A
plant
closely
connected
by
tradition
with
the
crucifixion
is
the
passion-flower.
As
soon
as
the
early
Spanish
settlers
in
South
America
first
glanced
on
it,
they
fancied
they
had
discovered
not
only
a
marvellous
symbol
of
Christ's
passion,
but
received
an
assurance
of
the
ultimate
triumph
of
Christianity.
Jacomo
Bosio,
who
obtained
his
knowledge
of
it
from
certain
Mexican
Jesuits,
speaks
of
it
as
"the
flower
of
the
five
wounds,"
and
has
given
a
very
minute
description
of
it,
showing
how
exactly
every
part
is
a
picture
of
the
mysteries
of
the
Passion.
"It
would
seem,"
he
adds,
"as
if
the
Creator
of
the
world
had
chosen
it
to
represent
the
principal
emblems
of
His
Son's
Passion;
so
that
in
due
season
it
might
assist,
when
its
marvels
should
be
explained
to
them,
in
the
condition
of
the
heathen
people,
in
whose
country
it
grew."
In
Brittany,
vervain
is
popularly
termed
the
"herb
of
the
cross,"
and
when
gathered
with
a
certain
formula
is
efficacious
in
curing
wounds.
[21]
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
