What makes a tree sacred, a flower a message, or a handful of herbs a charm against harm?

In Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics, Richard Folkard gathers the beliefs that grow around trees, flowers and herbs. Drawing on old herbals, travellers’ accounts, customs and poetry, he explores how people across many lands give plants meanings beyond their roots and petals. This is a collection of human stories, not a botanical field guide.

The collection moves from trees linked with gods and sacred places to flowers whose origins belong to Greek and Roman tales of change. Other parts explore protective charms, beliefs about healing, and blossoms associated with love, grief, faith and festivals. Alongside the lore, verse reveals how poets carry these meanings into words.

この本で学べること

• Trees tied to gods Explore traditions that honour trees and connect the plant world with sacred places.
• Flowers born from change Discover Greek and Roman tales that explain a flower’s appearance through stories of transformation.
• Charms against harm Meet plants once trusted to ward off danger, ill luck and witchcraft.
• The shape of healing See how a herb’s appearance becomes, in folk belief, a clue to its healing powers.
• Blossoms, feeling and verse Follow flowers through love, grief, faith and festivals, with poetry beside the lore.

どのような方におすすめですか？

民間伝承や昔の風習が好きな方、園芸や森の散歩を楽しむ方、詩を1か所に集めた本が好きな方にぴったりの本です。