Plant myths

      The Compendium of Materia Medica is a Chinese herbology book first printed in late 16th century. It lists plants, animals, minerals, that were believed to have medicinal properties, including recipes and intriguing visuals of the plants.

    Moly is a magical herb depicted by Homer in book 10 of Odyssey as having black roots, but with flowers like milk. According to the myth, moly is the name chosen by gods, but it is hard for mortals to dig, without a gods help. Another way to dig the plant is by a trained dog, however the dog dies while dragging up the root, thus the ritual is to burry the body on the spot with religious honors. 

      The lotus tree is another plant mentioned in Homer's Odyssey as causing a pleasant drowsiness when eaten. The people native to the island were called lotus-eaters. When they ate of the lotus tree they would forget about their friends and would lose their desire to return to their homes. 

    The fern flower is a magic flower in Baltic mythology, blooming only for a night and the flower brings fortune or the ability to understand animal speech to the person who finds it. Ferns are not flowering plants, although there are plants that visually resemble ferns which has flowers.

    The Vegetable Lamb of Tartary is a myth once believed to grow sheep as its fruit. The sheep were connected to the plant by a birth cord and were able to move and feed around the plant until all accessible foliage was gone. a similar plant-animal is mentioned in Jewish folklore called the Yeduah, a lamb-plant connected to a stem. Once the creature is hunted, it died and its bones could be used in fortune telling and ceremonies. Once ripe, the fruit was cut open, with a lamb-like creature inside but without wool, which then could be eaten. An alternative version of the myth tells of a human shaped plant-animal which believed to be aggressive and killing any creature that came near.