Plant lore has been defined as the name given to a set of sayings,
practices and beliefs held by man on the subject of the vegetable kingdom.
For our purpose the subject may be approached from various angles.
Starting with local plant names, one notices that, as a rule, purely
exterior qualities, usually referring to the form and shape of the flower,
suggested more or less fanciful associations.
In many countries it is very common to find plants taking their names from
a similarity with a part or parts of animals. In naming local plants our
folk not only conformed to this general trend but sometimes the animal
mentioned in the Maltese plant named is identical to that found in, say,
their popular English equivalents.
The following are a few examples: denb iz-ziemel (Eng. Branched
horsetail), ghajn is-serduq (Eng. Pheasants eye), ilsien
il-kelb (Eng. Southern hounds tongue), denb il-fenek (Eng.
Hares tail grass).
Scholars of international repute have studied this widespread phenomenon
and concluded, inter alia, that "great uniformity of plant names
throughout Europe presupposes a migration of such names from one country
to another".
One may also consider the role played by certain plants in the language of
symbolism - the representation of something moral or spiritual by
something natural or material. It has been suggested that such symbols
have descended among the people from higher social status and their
importance in the folklore of our day is undisputed.
Like other countries, Malta cherishes such symbols as part of its
heritage. Certain universal symbols are respected - thus, the rose is a
symbol of glory. But there are other plants whose symbolic significance is
not so obvious nowadays in these islands. More than a century ago they
were recorded by the historian P.P. Castagna.
For example, he mentions that the Maltese looked upon the cabbage rose
(M. centifolju) as a symbol of pride; the sunflower (M.
girasol) stands for respect; the violet (M. vjola) reflects
faithfulness, while the tulip (M. tulipan) is a symbol of fame. The
hybrid geranium (M. sardinell) symbolizes beauty without virtue;
the white lily (M. gilju abjad) stands for purity, while fear is
represented by the hummejr (marvel of Peru).
Certain plants, rich in seeds, symbolize fertility. The custom of throwing
rice over a newly-wed couple belongs to this order of symbols.
We must not omit to mention local sayings or proverbs resulting from close
observation of plants and the weather. Thus (a) "in May reap, even if it
is (as short as) royal mint"; (b) "When the asphodel grows heigth, the
years harvest is very good"; "When the vine conceals itself (i.e. sheds
its leaves), people begin to feel very cold", and (d) "When jasmine begins
to form its buds, (i.e. between June and November) the Arab girl begins
the feel the urge of love". It is believed that the jasmine plant was
introduced into Malta from Tunis, hence the allusion to the Arab girl.
Among the superstitious beliefs held by the folk one finds that our
forefathers were afraid of cultivating the acacia tree (M. gazzija)
because they believed that if they brought it into the house the head of
the family would die soon after.
The Knights Flower (M. Il-Warda tal-Kavallier) is the name given to
the fruit of a wild creeping plant commonly believed to grow between May
and September, within Fort St Angelo, and nowhere else. According to
tradition, this plant sprang out of the blood shed by the knights in
defence of the fort during the Great Siege of 1565. The fruit resembles
the eight-pointed cross of the Order of St John, but two of its points on
one side are slightly tilted at an angle with their opposite points.
Since classical times there have been numerous metamorphosis stories
relating how human beings were transformed into trees. In the story of
Polydorus in Virgils Aeneid (Book III, lines 22-68) the tree grows
out of the heros tomb. An old French chronicle relates how sweet-smelling
roses grew out of the corpses of the fallen Christians, but briars and
thorns out of those of the Saracens.
In an article on "The Pasque Flowered" (Country Life of June 14,
1940) the writer says that he found Anemone Pulsatella growing not very
far from Cambridge. It is said to grow wherever the Danes fought on
English soil.. hence its local name "Danes blood".
It is well known that plants figure prominently in folk medicine. The list
of such local plants credited with medicinal properties is too long to be
included here. By way of conclusion, however, we may mention a peculiar
practice connected with childbirth which survived up to within living
memory.
When a woman was about to give birth to a child she borrowed a withered
flower called il-warda tal-passjoni (The Passion Flower), which was
put into water. Popular belief claimed that the woman was delivered of her
child as the flower opened. Botanist Dr G. Gulia in 1855 explained that
"when its stems are dried and its leaves fall off, the plant shrivels like
a ball which, when moistened, sprouts out and contracts again when it is
taken out of the water.. They (people) think that when the plant is placed
in the water and it opens one can foretell an easy delivery to an
expectant mother">
(Courtesy of MALTA - This Month published for Air Malta by
ADVANTAGE ADVERTISING LTD., Regency House, Republic Street, Valletta,
Malta)