The early Spanish settlers of South America saw in the Flor de las cinco llagas, the Flower of the Five Wounds, or Passion Flower, a marvellous floral emblem of the mysteries of Christ’s Passion, and the Jesuits eagerly adopted it as likely to prove useful in winning souls to their faith.
An old legend, probably of monkish origin, recounts the emotions of plants on the death of the Saviour of mankind.
The Pine of Damascus said:—As a sign of mourning, from this day my foliage will remain sombre, and I will dwell in solitary places.
The Willow of Babylon.—My branches shall henceforth incline towards the waters of the Euphrates, and there shed the tears of the East.
The Vine of Sorrento.—My grapes shall be black, and the wine that shall flow from my side shall be called Lacryma Christi.
The Cypress of Carmel.—I will be the guest of the tombs, and the testimony of grief.
The Yew.—I will be the guardian of graveyards. No bee shall pillage with impunity my poisoned flowers. No bird shall rest on my branches; for my exhalations shall give forth death.
The Iris of Susa.—Henceforth I will wear perpetual mourning, in covering with a violet veil my golden chalice.
The Day Lily.—I will shut every evening my sweet-smelling corolla, and will only re-open it in the morning with the tears of the night.
In the midst of these lamentations of the flowers the Poplar alone held himself upright, cold, and arrogant as a free-thinker. As a punishment for this pride, from that day forth, at the least breath of wind it trembles in all its limbs. Revolutionists have, therefore, made it the Tree of Liberty.