Botanical Folklore: Plants in Myths and Legends

In this class, we will be covering folklore (legends, myths, ancient and regional histories) that involves plants, herbs, and trees. The stories we will be looking at are a collection of tales primarily from the Americas, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, and the Mediterranean Region. Our stories will take place from ancient times through to the 1900s.

The class is taught in a lecture and slideshow style with a seasonal progression from winter, to spring, summer, and finally fall. We will also be discussing our thoughts on several of the stories and our current point of view as compared to when the story was written. Along with the folktales, we will also be looking at the varying plants that you can put in your garden during those seasons.

All of the stories, contemporary documents, and questions will be showing in the slideshow for students to follow along with the instruction. No additional materials are needed for the class. Students are welcome to participate in the lecture, or to just listen; whichever is the most comfortable for them.