Sacred Flowers, Holy Trees, & Blessed Thorns: Fifty Plants in the Life of Jesus

Sacred Flowers, Holy Trees & Blessed Thorns tells the stories of fifty plants connected to Christian tradition, which can be found, in season, by the Christian pilgrim visiting the land of Israel. This unique resource includes illustrations that enable the pilgrim to identify the less-recognizable, and encourages the study of the rich botanical variety he or she will find on footpaths between pilgrimage sites, churches, and archaeological remains. Sacred Flowers, Holy Trees & Blessed Thorns is a must-have for anyone who is interested in how the Christian story is grounded in the physical reality of the land of Israel.

“The encounter with the plants brings to life the wondrous tales of the Holy Family: here they acquire a deeper religious significance. That is the magic secret: to touch the matter, the rocks, the clumps of earth, and the flowers growing on them” (from the Introduction).