The Passion in Plants

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The Passion in Plants: The Crucifixion - the Orchid and the Aspen

The Crucifixion - the Orchid and the Aspen

BBC Radio 4 - The Passion in Plants, The Crucifixion - the Orchid and the Aspen

Wild plants and the Easter story. The Crucifixion: the orchid, the aspen and the moschatel

Bob Gilbert looks at the Passion of Christ through the folklore of wild flowers. In programme 4 he seeks the tree the cross was made from and the plants that grew at its foot.

The early purple orchid grew at the foot of the cross and was splashed with the blood of Christ, hence the splotches on its leaves.

The Easter story reaches it critical moment with the crucifixion of Christ at Golgotha, the'place of the skull'. 

In British folklore several different trees are said to have provided the wood for the cross but none more commonly than the aspen which has ever since been condemned to tremble with remorse. Bob Gilbert and Brother Sam encounter an aspen in an urban park and consider its stories, as well as the wider role of trees in both Christianity and other world religions.

Several other plants, all with spots on their leaves, were said to have grown at the foot of the cross and to be stained by the dripping blood of Christ. Among them were the early purple orchid and the wild arum or cuckoo pint. Bob and Brother Sam find the first spring rosettes of these flowers unfurling beside a country lane before moving on to woodland to seek out the tiny plant whose name encapsulates the dramatic events of the day: the Good Friday plant or moschatel, the 'symbol of Christian watchfulness'. 

Presenter: Bob Gilbert
Producer: Julian May

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

Religion & Ethics

Factual: Science & Nature: Nature & Environment

Bob Gilbert traces the associations of British wild plants with the Easter Story.

Bob Gilbert traces the associations of British wild plants with the Easter Story. With Brother Samuel, a Franciscan friar, he explores their traditions and their meanings.

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The Passion in Plants

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