Folklore and Symbolism of Flowers, Plants and Trees

by Ernst Lehner, Johanna Lehner

This profusely illustrated archive of more than 200 flowers, plants, and trees was compiled by Ernst and Johanna Lehner — two of the world's foremost collectors of pictorial symbols (who also happen to be devoted flower enthusiasts). Their comprehensive collection, with illustrations selected from rare sources, extends from the image of a pomegranate, the Chinese symbol of fertility, to a basket of flowers in a nineteenth-century Valentine silhouette. A profusion of bouquets, wreaths, flowers of the months, and other floral designs are also included.
In examining the symbolism of flora, the authors consider the religious, magical, and legendary significance of plants such as the mandrake, used as an opiate and love potion; the lotus, revered by the Egyptians and the Mayas of Central America; the mistletoe, a plant believed by the ancients to be capable of raising people from the dead; as well as the Bo tree, sunflower, dragon tree, ice plant, and many other botanical specimens. The development of horticultural images in heraldic devices, emblems, and symbols is also discussed, and a concluding section displays a table summarizing the symbolic meanings of every known species of flora — from absinthe to zinnia.
A visual treat for flower lovers, this volume of royalty-free illustrations is an essential sourcebook for artists and designers. Of value to botanical experts and gardening specialists, it will also appeal to folklore enthusiasts.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Folklore, Mythology, Reference, Art, Plants

128 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1990

Reviews

[Vanya Prodanova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Като реших да си купя тази книга по повод креативен проект, който мисля да почна, не очаквах да се окаже толкова приятна, полезна, интересна и разкошна книга.

Голяма е на размери, но не и на дебелина. Има много красиви илюстрации, всичките до една от 16 век някъде. Книжката ти дава сбита и кратка информация за повечето неща, но това е достатъчно да провокира любопитството ти и да потърсиш нещо допълнително. Прекарах вчера няколко часа, четейки за Bo Trees и най-възрастните дървета в света. Та, чудесна колекционерска книжка, която да те вдъхнови, да ти даде храна за проучване на толкова много идеи, че аз се чудя коя да проуча първо.

Просто разкошна, няма други думи, които да опишат по-добре това красиво книжно бижу. :)

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some books get five stars for general quality of writing, photography, and printing; some art history books get five stars for writing although the plates may be b/w (Antal's Classicism and Romanticism http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27...) ; some books get five stars for outstanding production and writing (Hirst's The Sistine Chapel: A Glorious Restoration); http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16... some get five stars like this one for an endearing subject, even if it's not produced like the Heritage Book Club Arabian Nights. (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26...).

[Maxwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

thought it was cute

[Reese Lightning · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The night-blooming tree of sorrow (Arbor tristis) was believed to be a native South American tree, whose trunk grew in the shape of a female body. An ancient Amerindian fable tells that the young and beautiful daughter of the mighty chief and warrior, Parizataco, fell in love with the sun. But when the sun rejected her love and scorned her she withdrew from all human companionship into the wilderness. In her grief she slew herself. When her body was found by her people, it was brought back to her native village and put on a funeral pyre according to the custom of her tribe and cremated. From the ashes of her body sprang the Tree of Sorrow whose beautiful blossoms never opened in daytime in the presence of the sun. Its flowers unfolded their petals only at night under the cool light of the moon and the stars, filling the night air with a fragrant, sweet-heavy perfume. And when the sun rose in the morning the blossoms of this tree closed, its leaves withered and the tree looked dead and barren, only to rejuvenate and unfold again under the rays of the moon. Whenever a human hand touched the blooming tree the blossoms of this sensitive plant closed up and their sweet scent vanished."

[Lia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great compilation of stories, including myth, Biblical, and historical references. The illustrations included in the book might have been my favorite part - all credited. The symbolism index included in the last part of the book is also invaluable and extensive.

[Adrianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't fully finish it. Its more of a book that you have around as a reference guide, and I checked it out from my library. So needless to say I'm going to purchase a copy to have as such.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can say this for certain about the book: It's very pretty both inside and out. It's definitely a neat book to display to pretend you're educated and/or interested in plants. The rest is uncertain.

While this book promises to be a book about the folklore and symbolism of flowers, plants, and trees (as the title suggests) it's severely lacking in sources for any of its claims, which I honestly can at times find dubious. The book states that the golden apples of Greek myth were actually oranges, for instance, which seems like both a fun fact and completely wrong considering how the Greek myths were as I don't think people would throw a race to pick up oranges but would do so for actually golden apples.

This one thing makes me question the validity of all the claims this book displays proudly, especially the ones I'm not well versed in. I can only recommend this to someone who wants to own some cool and rare plant illustrations or if you want to seem like you know a lot about plants and not someone who wishes to actually learn about plants.

[Hapzydeco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ink drawing and woodcut - illustrations. Good historical facts, lore & legend. Flower calendar included.

[Diane Glover · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have used this book in conjunction with The Language and Sentiment of Flowers to create my own mix of flowers to give people conveying my true thoughts.

[TQPS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good! I wanted more plants overall and also to know about the history of these things in a deeper way, but it did have some great stuff to think about, since I mostly read this out of desire to use these facts for foundations of other stories. Good starting point into some stuff I’m a bit more curious about, like roses as a symbol of secrecy and mistletoe being banned in churches for being pagan and the acanthus pillar being actually a memorial for some forgotten dead girl.
I wish it could have gone into more detail about the queer history of some of these plants, especially the violet, but I understand a lot of that wasn’t happening yet in the 60s when this was originally written.

Still, I’m finding it really cool how many things that I thought were arbitrary aesthetic choices are actually representative of some deeper meaning for the people who chose them. It seems so obvious now that I think about it in a deeper way, but I never would have looked into vines as a Christian symbol or the clover being symbolic of the holy trinity and so on and so forth forever. Makes me want to look into it further.

Anyway, beautiful illustrations. I’m happy to have this as a little desk reference for flower language and I’m glad I properly read it through after all this time.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like the title of this book really covers it - it's about the folklore and symbolism of flowers and other plants. The book was originally published in the 1800s and contains all of the images from the original. So that's great.

Overall, I really like this book. It goes into the folklore behind various plants, but also the symbolism associated with them. There's also a section on Japanese, Chinese, and English calendar flowers/plants (like, the flower for this month is ____). My only problem with the book is that it goes into a limited number of plants. It doesn't even cover all of the most well-known or popular flowers. I'd love to see a modern version of this with a larger number of plants included.

[Sam Duffy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An informative, if brief, look at the role of flowers, plants, and trees in folklore, myth, and culture over the ages. I wanted a deeper dive than this book gave, but I still found its index at the back of the book very helpful to have on standby when reading myths or folktales.

I should very much like to see a series of books similar to this one divided by culture or region. A book just for the UK, India, China, etcetera. This way, when reading a culture or regions tales or stories, you could grab the respective book for a deeper dive.

Regardless, this book is helpful, I just want more.

If you need a free copy, the 1960s edition of this book is available to check out at Archive.org.

[B. Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I thought this would be... more... than what it was. Instead of being a study, it felt more like I was reading a dictionary for plants, but instead of a definition there was a blurb about what myths it appeared in and a picture. While that is a nice stepping off point for further study, I really expected more.

There were parts of this that made me pause - certain selections of words - so I looked it up and despite the recent published date for the kindle version, the original version was published in 1960. It was an, "ah, I see now," moment.

[coco's reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was rather a random purchase, but I came across it while doing research for a novella I'm writing and thought it'd be useful later when I revise. And honestly...it probably will be! Specifically with the flower meanings and the connections to mythology, I believe this could be helpful to consult. The images, as promised on the cover, were often strange (and at turns charming), and although I found so many punctuation issues that the budding copyeditor in me wanted to correct, this was a very approachable guide to plant lore and symbolism.

[Maeve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short entries on various trees and plants regarding their folklore and symbolism. There sections include: sacred plants (the focus is primarily on religious sacredness), the lore and legends of plants (mostly Greek and Roman), strange and wondrous plants, flower calendars, and the language of flowers. Every plant is accompanied with at least one historical illustration.

[Napoleon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enjoyable "coffee table" style book. Offers some great insight into the cultural relevance of a decent variety of plants drawing from numerous cultures (Celtic, Hindu, Chinese etc). However, Folklore and Symbolism of Flowers, Plants and Trees does not have a narrative presentation, which makes it a bit difficult to read in a normal linear fashion.

[Rick Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is really a grab bag, and for perusing, rather than a straightforward read. What I liked best was the wide variety of cultures represented as well as the really nice assortment of old woodcuts, of flowers, of people, of life.

[Rissa (rissasreading) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 - this book had the most beautiful illustrations to pair with the stories and information within this book. I wish this had more to it as this was a short read but that's just because I really enjoyed reading about plants

[addison pullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

i bought this book for possible tattoo research/ideas/inspiration & thought it was well written, organized & interesting. the illustrations were great! it was definitely what i was looking for & is great for what it is (not your typical fiction read yk)

[Mark A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-researched and presented compendium.

[Brave · Rating 3 out of 5]

A SOLID reference piece...not super great for reading straight through, as I attempted to do.

[Stephanie Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting read and incredibly informative

[Mesia Loriana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast read but good overview.