BBC Radio 4 LW

The Passion in Plants

The Passion in Plants: The Last Supper and the Betrayal - Bitter Herbs and the Elder

The Last Supper and the Betrayal - Bitter Herbs and the Elder

BBC Radio 4 - The Passion in Plants, The Last Supper and the Betrayal - Bitter Herbs and the Elder

Wild plants in the story of the Last Supper and the Betrayal  - bitter herbs and the elder

The Last Supper was the Feast of the Passover, when Jewish people eat the bitter herbs. And the Elder from which Judas, full of remorse following his betrayal, hanged himself

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

BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

Radio 4

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.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Passion in Plants

The Last Supper and the Betrayal - Bitter Herbs and the Elder

Genres

Series

BBC Radio 4 LW

About BBC Radio 4