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Plant Lore and Legend: The Wisdom and Wonder of Plants and Flowers Revealed
From time immemorial, people have sought to understand the mysteries of the natural world, giving rise to a wealth of myths and legends connected to plant life. In addition to their imaginative appeal, these oral traditions offered practical advice about which flowers, trees, and plants could provide foods, remedies, and construction materials. This richly illustrated volume provides a treasury of ancient wisdom, exploring the sound principles behind traditional advice, along with a wealth of fanciful beliefs.
Naturalist Ruth Binney recounts charming examples of floral symbolism, linking roses with romance, lilies with purity, and poppies with sleep. She examines tree lore and the association of trees with wisdom and knowledge, from the coveted crown of laurel awarded to ancient Greek poets and Roman generals to the palm branches presented to pilgrims returning from the Holy Land. A survey of the power of plants ranges from the rituals that ensure a good harvest and a newly married couple's fertility to the healing qualities of oil of cloves for toothache, cherries for gout, and aloe vera for burns. Abounding in fascinating facts and fancies, this absorbing compilation will captivate lovers of plants and gardens.
Naturalist Ruth Binney recounts charming examples of floral symbolism, linking roses with romance, lilies with purity, and poppies with sleep. She examines tree lore and the association of trees with wisdom and knowledge, from the coveted crown of laurel awarded to ancient Greek poets and Roman generals to the palm branches presented to pilgrims returning from the Holy Land. A survey of the power of plants ranges from the rituals that ensure a good harvest and a newly married couple's fertility to the healing qualities of oil of cloves for toothache, cherries for gout, and aloe vera for burns. Abounding in fascinating facts and fancies, this absorbing compilation will captivate lovers of plants and gardens.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 26, 2021
A decent book if you're interested in plant lore, but I found it rather underwhelming. More of a miscellany containing random bits of trivia than a structured exploration of the subject. The illustrations are nice, but they are apparently old clip art, and kind of seem like filler in an already slim book. The inset on p. 87 containing so-called "street jargon" for cannabis is so out-of-touch it's bizarre. "Weed of madness" or the "devil drug" were probably last used during the Truman administration.
November 17, 2020
As you already know, I love myths and legends and I love collecting books about them. Plant Lore and Legend fills a gap in my collection, because I have nothing about this subject.
Plant Lore and Legend is a slim book talking about the history of plants, including the lore and legends behind them. The book is divided into three sections: ‘The Wonder of Flowers’, ‘The Lore of Trees’, and ‘The Power of Plants’. Within each chapter, each plant gets a page or two and Binney sketches out a quick history of how the plant has been viewed and used. Short sidebars add small tidbits of interesting information, such as:
- Fertility symbols: acorn, quince, avocado, almond, and mistletoe
- Coconut traditions
- Effects of certain woods (e.g. ash for reverence, hickory for endurance, etc), which is useful if you want a wand
- Principles of Ikebana
While most of the book focuses on Western legends, there are a few entries that reference Asian tradition – I appreciated that inclusion, although I still need a book that focuses on Asian plant lore and legend (and also, Africa and the Middle East).
Overall, I enjoyed this book very much! It’s contained a lot more information than I expected, and I expect I will be returning to this book in the future.
This review was first posted at Eustea Reads
Plant Lore and Legend is a slim book talking about the history of plants, including the lore and legends behind them. The book is divided into three sections: ‘The Wonder of Flowers’, ‘The Lore of Trees’, and ‘The Power of Plants’. Within each chapter, each plant gets a page or two and Binney sketches out a quick history of how the plant has been viewed and used. Short sidebars add small tidbits of interesting information, such as:
- Fertility symbols: acorn, quince, avocado, almond, and mistletoe
- Coconut traditions
- Effects of certain woods (e.g. ash for reverence, hickory for endurance, etc), which is useful if you want a wand
- Principles of Ikebana
While most of the book focuses on Western legends, there are a few entries that reference Asian tradition – I appreciated that inclusion, although I still need a book that focuses on Asian plant lore and legend (and also, Africa and the Middle East).
Overall, I enjoyed this book very much! It’s contained a lot more information than I expected, and I expect I will be returning to this book in the future.
This review was first posted at Eustea Reads
April 10, 2019
I would like to thank Dover Publications for providing me with a free – temporary – electronic ARC of this book, via Netgalley. Although I required their approval, the decision to read this book is my choice and any reviews given are obligation free.
My interest in reading ‘Plant Lore and Legend’ came from my love or herbalism, holistic healing, gardening, being a Pagan and the usual “hippy dippy greenie” stuff that makes me the awesome person I am.
Sadly I found it a little bit of a let-down. I mean, it started well and I got all excited as it spoke of the meaning of flowers, bouquets and the like… But once we got into trees and then further into the book it became more of a one liner reference of things than the in-depth look into the lore and legends of plants I had expected.
Don’t even get me started on the not that flattering look at pagans and witches it vaguely bumps into from time to time. It really came across as some old women gossiping around a coffee table basing their wisdom on hearsay and misinformation.
Oh my, that makes it sound like I hated ‘Plant Lore and Legend’ and I certainly did NOT. What I am meaning to say is this book is really more of a base reference to some of the lore and legends, rather than being the detailed reference book I was hoping it to be. But, if it had managed to be the book I had hoped for, the end product would have been as thick as an old style phone book! Instead it jumped about in a jumble, as if rambling off all that the author knew, had heard of, in regards to plants, their myths, lore and legends. I would have rather it stuck to maybe one or two of the topics breezed over and gone into them in more detail. Such as the how it started off with flowers. That part of the book was excellent and very enjoyable information. It spoke of the various cultures experience with certain flowers, how they used them, what (if any) message the flowers spoke and so on. THAT is how the whole book should have been.
I started to lose interest when ‘Plant Lore and Legend’ moved into trees, as the descriptions and details got even briefer. Then it seemed to wander off and add any old nonsense as long as it related to plants. If it had just chosen, say, the top 50 common plants in the Western World and gone on as it had started about their origins, uses, traditions in as great details as how it started – ‘Plant Lore and Legend’ would be a superb book and one I would be buying in an instance. As it currently stands, it’s a little too hit and miss for me. But I feel I might be jaded and bias as my interest in lore and legends, plant use in health and herbalism, and my Pagan faiths mean I already knew a lot of the information told in this book… sometimes incorrectly told too – sorry. So, it’s another “not the right audience for this book” moment. This is a shame, but would explain a lot.
I feel that ‘Plant Law and Legend’ is a book better suited to those newly interested in plants and their history. This is the sort of book I would have enjoyed more in my early teens, when I first started reading up on such things. Back when generic statements and brief descriptions within a book were there to pique the interest and encourage the reader to seek more detailed information in other books. So I would say this book is more aimed at your newbie plant lovers, and may it encourage them to seek to learn more as it is an amazing topic in more detailed books.
On the book nerd side of things, formatting is excellent and easy to read but, in all honesty, I kept wondering WHY the pictures throughout the book weren’t in colour! There are some simply gorgeous doodles and plant drawings seeded nicely all the way through and, in the ARC at least, they are all in black and white. To me this really took away some of the magic and wonder the book was trying to instil in the reader. That added colour would have helped draw me in and keep me interested just that little bit longer. Instead, the monochrome merely added to my feeling this was a glib black and white look at a world that really can’t be expressed in narrow, black and white ways. :-)
Would I recommend this book to others?
I might, but it would be to those new to learning the lore and legends of plants, and the recommendation would be given with the added advice that this is only one opinion on it all and that the reader should use it as a stepping stone only. As in, ‘Plant Lore and Legend’ is a great way to learn about a certain aspect of plant lore and legends… that the reader can then research further through more details, accurate, books. Buy a Culpepper, they’re awesome, I love mine!
Would I buy this book for myself?
Funny thing is, if the pictures had been in pleasing colours, I probably would. Simply as a reference book to add to my existing library of myths, legends, Pagan Lore, and herbalism. But I find its black and white appearance a tad too dull to waste my limited bookshelf space on. Man I sound mean! I do apologise for that, but this book could just have been so much more than it was and the frustration I am feeling is due to that, not due to a poor quality book. As ‘Plant Lore and Legend’ is NOT a poor quality book. Merely one light on details and facts in areas I was hoping it would cover. My fault entirely!
In Summary – An interesting, but brief, look at some plant lore and legends. Other books give greater detail and stronger information.
My interest in reading ‘Plant Lore and Legend’ came from my love or herbalism, holistic healing, gardening, being a Pagan and the usual “hippy dippy greenie” stuff that makes me the awesome person I am.
Sadly I found it a little bit of a let-down. I mean, it started well and I got all excited as it spoke of the meaning of flowers, bouquets and the like… But once we got into trees and then further into the book it became more of a one liner reference of things than the in-depth look into the lore and legends of plants I had expected.
Don’t even get me started on the not that flattering look at pagans and witches it vaguely bumps into from time to time. It really came across as some old women gossiping around a coffee table basing their wisdom on hearsay and misinformation.
Oh my, that makes it sound like I hated ‘Plant Lore and Legend’ and I certainly did NOT. What I am meaning to say is this book is really more of a base reference to some of the lore and legends, rather than being the detailed reference book I was hoping it to be. But, if it had managed to be the book I had hoped for, the end product would have been as thick as an old style phone book! Instead it jumped about in a jumble, as if rambling off all that the author knew, had heard of, in regards to plants, their myths, lore and legends. I would have rather it stuck to maybe one or two of the topics breezed over and gone into them in more detail. Such as the how it started off with flowers. That part of the book was excellent and very enjoyable information. It spoke of the various cultures experience with certain flowers, how they used them, what (if any) message the flowers spoke and so on. THAT is how the whole book should have been.
I started to lose interest when ‘Plant Lore and Legend’ moved into trees, as the descriptions and details got even briefer. Then it seemed to wander off and add any old nonsense as long as it related to plants. If it had just chosen, say, the top 50 common plants in the Western World and gone on as it had started about their origins, uses, traditions in as great details as how it started – ‘Plant Lore and Legend’ would be a superb book and one I would be buying in an instance. As it currently stands, it’s a little too hit and miss for me. But I feel I might be jaded and bias as my interest in lore and legends, plant use in health and herbalism, and my Pagan faiths mean I already knew a lot of the information told in this book… sometimes incorrectly told too – sorry. So, it’s another “not the right audience for this book” moment. This is a shame, but would explain a lot.
I feel that ‘Plant Law and Legend’ is a book better suited to those newly interested in plants and their history. This is the sort of book I would have enjoyed more in my early teens, when I first started reading up on such things. Back when generic statements and brief descriptions within a book were there to pique the interest and encourage the reader to seek more detailed information in other books. So I would say this book is more aimed at your newbie plant lovers, and may it encourage them to seek to learn more as it is an amazing topic in more detailed books.
On the book nerd side of things, formatting is excellent and easy to read but, in all honesty, I kept wondering WHY the pictures throughout the book weren’t in colour! There are some simply gorgeous doodles and plant drawings seeded nicely all the way through and, in the ARC at least, they are all in black and white. To me this really took away some of the magic and wonder the book was trying to instil in the reader. That added colour would have helped draw me in and keep me interested just that little bit longer. Instead, the monochrome merely added to my feeling this was a glib black and white look at a world that really can’t be expressed in narrow, black and white ways. :-)
Would I recommend this book to others?
I might, but it would be to those new to learning the lore and legends of plants, and the recommendation would be given with the added advice that this is only one opinion on it all and that the reader should use it as a stepping stone only. As in, ‘Plant Lore and Legend’ is a great way to learn about a certain aspect of plant lore and legends… that the reader can then research further through more details, accurate, books. Buy a Culpepper, they’re awesome, I love mine!
Would I buy this book for myself?
Funny thing is, if the pictures had been in pleasing colours, I probably would. Simply as a reference book to add to my existing library of myths, legends, Pagan Lore, and herbalism. But I find its black and white appearance a tad too dull to waste my limited bookshelf space on. Man I sound mean! I do apologise for that, but this book could just have been so much more than it was and the frustration I am feeling is due to that, not due to a poor quality book. As ‘Plant Lore and Legend’ is NOT a poor quality book. Merely one light on details and facts in areas I was hoping it would cover. My fault entirely!
In Summary – An interesting, but brief, look at some plant lore and legends. Other books give greater detail and stronger information.
July 21, 2019
Gorgeous book and cover design. I loved the ink drawings on every page. The content was a little less interesting to me and disliked how the author chose to divide the sections of the book. Overall, a fun one-time read or even a fun book to skim.
March 14, 2019
A quirky, fun book full of tidbits about the history (medicinal, edible, etc.) and myth (folk tales, fairy tales, gods and goddesses, etc.) of a variety of flowers, trees, herbs, fruits and vegetables. Really interesting and fun!
December 20, 2019
Lots of fun myths; would have liked a little more sourcing.
May 22, 2021
One thing this book was lacking was colourful illustrations, other than that - very interesting read.
July 22, 2021
Interesante pero me gustaría que entrara más en detalle o que fuera más largo
December 10, 2022
It had some fun history and lore. A fun fluff read.
January 9, 2023
As an amateur botanist who enjoys lore and history alike, this book was an absolute hit for me. I loved the way everything was divided up and sectioned.
January 14, 2023
A cute book with beautiful illustrations. However the content is sparse and not very informative. Feels like a rush job, especially with the typos.
February 22, 2023
Author has multiple typos and factual inaccuracies. It’s like she copied and pasted from Google.
January 30, 2017
This was a beautifully presented book full of facts, figures and illustrations. Each section was only a page or two long making it perfect to pick up and put down for a few moments each day.
February 5, 2019
I read Plant Lore and Legend after reading Animal Lore and Legend. The idea is great to have expanded the concept to plants. Plants are quite a wide field used in language and the I was really interested to learn all we say about plants (legends, meaning,...).
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews