The tansy, in British tradition used as an equivalent of one of the 'bitter herbs' of the Passover

Urban naturalist Bob Gilbert and Francisican friar Brother Samuel, delve into the folklore of British wild plants associated with the events of Holy Week in The Passion in Plants. In the second programme they focus on The Last Supper and The Betrayal. The meal Jesus took with his disciples in the upper room was the Feast of the Passover, when Jews eat ' the bitter herbs and unleavened bread' as reminders of the bitter experience of their enslavement in Egypt. Ilana Epstein,an expert in Jewish culinary traditions - and a great cook herself, reveals the identity of these herbs and their the subtle significance.

In British tradition sorrel and tansy (used to get rid of worms!) became the equivalent of the bitter herbs. They grow in Bob's garden in Poplar and he and Brother Sam follow traditional recipes, cooking a tansy pancake and a dish called simply, a 'tansy'.

Why does the elder never amount to more than a scruffy, scrubby bush. It's because, full of remorse after betraying Jesus with a kiss,
Judas Iscariot hanged himself from an elder tree. Ever since the wood has been weak and pithy (so easily hollowed out to make musical instruments). On the slope above Hilfield friary in Dorset Bob and Sam look closely at an elder and find a certain fungus that often grows on it - auricularia auricula-judae, Latin for 'the ear of Judas'.

Presenter: Bob Gilbert
Producer: Julian May Show less