Know About These Legends and Folktales Associated With Plants

Do you know the Amaryllis flower is named after a shy maiden who fell in love with Alteo, a shepherd and to impress him sprung a unique flower from the blood of her heart?
Do you know why the Burmese call banana ‘the birds told’?
Do you know what the burning bush as witnessed by mosses, is called?

Well, plants have been on the earth since Biblical times and have hundreds of legends and folktales from different cultures and religions surrounding them. In this article, we take you for a walk through a series of popular legends and fables, pertaining to plants & flowers, that are too interesting to miss.

Mango

The king of fruits has several stories linked to its existence. We have mentioned a popular one here. The sun’s daughter was the most beautiful girl who was happily married to a king. A wicked enchantress couldn’t tolerate watching them so happy and thus, pledged to ruin her life. She followed the girl terrifying her with hideous yells.

To escape from the evil clutches of the enchantress, the girl threw herself into a pool disguised as a lotus. As the king was passing by, he was astonished to see the beauty of the lotus. This angered the enchantress more and she set the waterbody on fire. And from the ashes of burnt lotus rose mangoes.

Jasmine

The legend associated with Jasmine comes from the faraway land of Europe. The Duke of Tuscany introduced w in 1699 and wished to be the sole entity of its possession. He even prohibited giving away even any cutting.

One day, his gardener, who was poor and couldn’t come up with any gift for his girlfriend’s birthday, plucked a sprig and gave it as a gift to her. She further planted it in soil which gave way to more such enchanting blooms. Soon, they both started planting more and selling them to rich & wealthy people. Later, with all the money collected, they settled down. Since then jasmines have been used in bridal bouquets at weddings in memory of the lady.

Lily

Lilies have been associated with purity and innocence since ancient Greek and Roman times. And that is the very reason these blooms are commonly used in funeral services. But that’s not a random pick! There is a famous tale of lost love and lily.

In Normandy, there was a brave knight who was in search of a perfect wife. Though many beautiful maidens came his way, none took his heart. He would spend hours and hours alone in graveyards. And then one day, his eyes fell on a beautiful woman sitting on a tombstone with whom he fell in love at the first sight. The king took her to the castle and spent his life happily. Soon when it was time for Christmas, they organised a huge feast and invited several other knights & their ladies. At the end of the dinner, a minstrel sang a melodious song about the loveliness of heaven and life after death. But as he finished the song, the king’s wife turned pale and collapsed. As he rushed and took her into his arms, he held a lily instead of his wife. The petals of the lily slowly begin to fall. Heartbroken, he fled from the castle. While he fell to his knees in his courtyard, snow fell from the sky in the form of white lily petals.