JXB Advance Access published online on June 23, 2009
Journal of Experimental Botany, doi:10.1093/jxb/erp207
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Plant Culture |
Symbolism of plants: examples from European-Mediterranean culture presented with biology and history of art
1Institute of Botany, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Gregor Mendelstr. 33, 1180 Wien, Austria
2Institute of Botany, Darmstadt University of Technology, Kirchbergweg 6, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany
* To whom correspondence should be addressed: E-mail: ullrichcw{at}online.de
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AUGUST: Bittersweet, woody nightshade |
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 Top AUGUST: Bittersweet, woody... BiologySymbolismReferences |
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In late summer fewer wild plants are flowering in temperate latitudes. For this month we chose a much less conspicuous plant, bittersweet, a vine with small, but conspicuous violet and yellow flowers. The reasons for its symbolic value are less apparent than for others of these monthly presentations, and lie in its arsenal of secondary metabolites as much as its appearance. With bittersweet, the authors want to remind readers of the value of inconspicuous objects and those for which value is more than skin-deep.
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Biology |
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TopAUGUST: Bittersweet, woody...BiologySymbolismReferences |
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Bittersweet (Solanum dulcamara) is a member of the diverse Solanaceae family (Knapp, 2002). It is characterized by two floral features: the flowers contain a central yellow column formed by the stamens surrounded by five reflexed violet petals and sympetalous at the base. The leaves have a large oval blade and often two smaller separated lobes at their base (Fig. 1). S. dulcamara climbs and scrambles in willow bushes or up tree trunks in alder swamps in many parts of Europe and across Northern temperate zones to China, but is also an invasive alien in North America. The shiny red berries are ornamental in autumn. The scientific species name dulcamara alludes to the content in stems and leaves of a glycosidic bitter substance, which, on chewing, first tastes bitter and then, due to enzymatic hydrolysis, sweet. The plant's common name in many modern European languages relates to this bittersweet property. The plants are toxic because of various steroid alkaloids and saponins, similar to other Solanum species (Roth et al., 1994).
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Symbolism |
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TopAUGUST: Bittersweet, woody...BiologySymbolismReferences |
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The property of tasting first bitter and then sweet lent bittersweet a particular symbolic value. The reward for persistence is symbolized by the growing sweetness upon chewing giving rise to its use as a symbol of fidelity, particularly in the Christian Middle Ages (Kandeler, 2006). It was often depicted on panel paintings and tapestries (Behling, 1975). After the restoration of St Thomas's church in Leipzig in 2000, fine 15th century decorative frescos depicting bittersweet can easily be recognized (Fig. 2) on the vaulted ceiling of the side-aisle. Bittersweet was also used for bridal wreaths and in other contexts to symbolize fidelity and to repel evil (Kandeler, 2006).
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In tapestry bittersweet's symbolism can be particularly well understood, since here the presentations are often complemented with explanatory banners, as on the fragment of a wall tapestry from Strasbourg (Fig. 3). A lady sits on a bench holding a pair of scales in her right hand, one pan of which contains bittersweet plants that cannot be balanced by gold in the other pan. Bittersweet also appears in the lady's wreath and in the background. The banner says: "Jelengerlieb... bin ich hold, sie wigt das silber und das gold". In modern English: "Bittersweet I love, it outweighs the silver and the gold".
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In the same way bittersweet symbolizes fidelity in many medieval paintings (Behling, 1975) and indicates symbolic values more than skin deep, similarly to columbine with which it is often painted together.
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References |
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TopAUGUST: Bittersweet, woody...BiologySymbolismReferences |
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Behling L. Zur Morphologie und Sinndeutung kunstgeschichtlicher Phänomene (1975) Köln-Wien: Böhlau.
Kandeler R. Symbolism of plants and colours. Botanical art and culture history in examples. In: Abhandlungen der Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Österreich (2006) 33A, Vienna.
Knapp S. Tobacco to tomatoes: a phylogenetic perspective on fruit diversity in the Solanaceae. Journal of Experimental Botany (2002) 53:2001–2022.
Rapp Buri A, Stucky-Schürer M. Zahm und wild. Basler und Straßburger Bildteppiche des 15. Jahrhunderts. (1990) Mainz: Ph. von Zabern.
Roth L, Daunderer M, Kornmann K. Giftpflanzen—Pflanzengifte (1994) Landsberg: Ecomed Verlagsgesellschaft.
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