E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Flowers and Trees with Christian Traditions.
The Aspen leaf is said to tremble because the cross was made of Aspenwood.
1
Ah! tremble, tremble, Aspen-tree,
We need not ask thee why thou shakest,
For if, as holy legend saith,
On thee the Saviour bled to death,
No wonder, Aspen, that thou quakest;
And, till in judgment all assemble,
Thy leaves accursed shall wail and tremble.
E. C. B.
The dwarf elder is called in Wales “the plant of the Blood of Man.”
2
The wallflower is known in Palestine as the “Blood-drops of Christ.”
3
The following are also said to owe their stained blossoms to the blood which trickled from the cross:—
4
The red anemone; the arum; the purple orchis; the crimson-spotted leaves of the roodselken (a French tradition); the spotted persicaria, snake-weed. (See CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS.)
