I GARDENERS' CHRONICLE I 
| OF AMERICA | 
Devoted to the Science of Floriculture and Horticulture 
I Vol. xx. 
APRIL, 1916. 
No. 4. 
I!ll!l!lllllllllllllll!l!!!l!ll!!lilllll«!lllll!!l!l!lllllllllli 
A Story of Easter in Plants 
ALTHOUGH the lily is our Easter flower there is 
no Scriptural warrant for its especial use as the 
emblem of the resurrection. That it was re- 
garded as a beautiful flower all references prove. Lilies 
and lilywork are mentioned three times m Kings, for 
funning patterns of carved or- 
naments for the pillars and oth- 
er parts of Solomon's temple. 
Six times lilies are mentioned 
in the Song of Solomon as 
graceful flowers, emblematic of 
song and sweet perfume. 
The lilv-of-the-valley of the 
Bible is not tbe flower now 
known by that name, for our 
lily-of-the-valley does not grow 
in Palestine. But the jonquil, 
the Narcissus Jonquilla, our 
lovely white and yellow spring 
lilies, of several varieties, 
known familiarly as "Easter 
flowers," grow plentifully in the 
valleys of Palestine. Some au- 
thorities think that tbe lily to 
which Solomon was compared 
is the Amaryllis, that glorious 
flowering bulb with bright red 
and yellow flowers, which also 
grows abundantly in the vales 
of Palestine. The large ane- 
mone, iris and the water lily 
are all natives of Palestine and 
believed to come under the gen- 
eric term of "lily," as used in 
tbe lhble. 
Few people know that the 
United States Botanic ( iarden at 
Washington contains a unique 
collection of what may be term- 
ed "Scriptural plants." There 
are at least a dozen trees, 
shrubs and plants, which are 
mentioned in the Bible as having bad close connection 
with Christ, and others of its leading characters and 
with Easter. 
Holy week commences with Palm Sunday, and the 
date palm, the species used in church celebrations of 
that day, was the palm used in Christ's triumphal 
Euphorbia splendens (Crown of Thorns) 
entry into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday, be- 
fore His crucifixion, when the people "took branches 
of palm trees and went forth to meet Him." 
The date palm has attained a luxurious growth in 
the botanic garden. It is the tall, feathery specimen 
familiar to many through il- 
lustrated Bibles. 
The olive, the most sacred of 
the trees of Palestine, espe- 
cially those ancient specimens 
on the Mount of Olives, is not 
sufficiently hardy to grow well 
outdoors in this section of the 
country, although it flourishes 
in some warmer parts of the 
United States. It is, therefore, 
not adequately represented in 
the botanic garden. The one 
"olive branch" it possesses is a 
puny specimen, giving no idea 
of the tree of great growth and 
almost incredible age. 
Good Friday is commemor- 
ated in the botanic garden by 
the Christ thorn, as well as by 
the reed, for on the day of 
Christ's crucifixion "they plat- 
ted a crown of thorns and put 
it upon His head, and a reed in 
His right hand." Tbe speci- 
mens of Christ thorn here are 
rather ungainly growths with 
long, irregular boughs and they 
rarely grow in graceful pro- 
portions. The little twig con- 
forms in every detail to the 
spiked crown of thorns which 
( initio painted so realistically 
on the head of the famous 
"Xazarene." 
This tree, somewhat rare in 
our country, grows plentifully, 
both as tree and shrub, all over Palestine. It is a tall, 
gaunt tree of sinister aspect, which weirdly fringes the 
brink of the Jordan river and the lake of Tiberius. Two 
shoots of the thorn tree from the botanic garden were set 
out some years ago in the grounds of the Capitol, south- 
west of the building. These have grown to be about 
178 
