Plant Lore, Legends & Lyrics by Richard Folkard — New Complete Edition (1884)

Plant Lore, Legends & Lyrics by Richard Folkard is one of the most important Victorian classics on plant folklore and botanical symbolism. First published in 1884 and presented by the author to Queen Victoria, this complete new edition restores the full original text, including rare indexes and illustrations that are usually missing from later publications.

The scope of this detailed study is vast. It ranges from plant symbolism and the World Tree motif to the practical use of herbs in witchcraft, including flying ointments and spells.

Much of this 539 page book deals with the spirits of trees and plants, including various types of fairies, fauns, satyrs, dryads, and hamadryads. Sacred plants and ceremonies are described, as well as the symbolism of plants in funeral customs and those attributed to the Devil and the Black Arts.

Tables are included, and a special—nearly 200-page—Plant Encyclopedia fills the second part of the book. This book is a must-read whether you are a plant lover, folklorist, herbalist, Wiccan, or occultist.

 

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Why Plant Lore, Legends & Lyrics Still Matters Today

In an era dominated by scientific specialization, Plant Lore, Legends & Lyrics stands as a rare synthesis of botany, mythology, folklore, literature, and cultural anthropology. Richard Folkard’s work reminds us that plants are not merely biological organisms but symbolic agents deeply embedded in human consciousness, ritual, and imagination.

Modern disciplines such as ethnobotany, eco-criticism, myth studies, and environmental humanities increasingly recognize the value of such integrative perspectives. Folkard anticipated these fields by more than a century, documenting how plants function simultaneously as medicine, metaphor, spiritual symbol, and narrative device.

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A Bridge Between Science and Imagination

One of the book’s greatest achievements lies in its ability to bridge empirical observation with poetic imagination. Folkard does not reject scientific botany; rather, he situates it within a broader cultural and symbolic context. He shows how traditional herbal medicine evolved alongside magical belief systems, how early botanical classification coexisted with mythic cosmologies, and how poetic language preserved symbolic meanings long after their ritual origins had faded.

This fusion of science and symbolism reflects a pre-modern worldview in which knowledge was holistic rather than compartmentalized. In this sense, Plant Lore, Legends & Lyrics offers not only historical documentation but also an alternative epistemology — one that values imagination, memory, and myth as forms of knowledge.

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Plants as Cultural and Symbolic Agents

Central to Folkard’s thesis is the idea that plants function as symbolic mediators between nature and human culture. He shows how flora acquire moral, emotional, and spiritual meanings through myth and ritual. For example:

• The Rose is treated as a symbol of love, secrecy, martyrdom, and divine beauty, spanning pagan, Christian, and literary traditions.

• The Lily embodies purity, virginity, and resurrection, closely tied to Marian iconography and Christian symbolism.

• The Oak represents strength, endurance, and sacred authority, associated with druidic worship and classical mythology.

• The Mistletoe is explored as a sacred parasitic plant, central to Druidic ritual and later Christmas traditions.

Through these examples, Folkard illustrates how symbolic meanings are culturally constructed rather than biologically inherent, yet become deeply embedded in collective memory.

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The World Tree and Cosmic Symbolism

Among the book’s most profound thematic threads is the motif of the World Tree — a symbol found in numerous mythological traditions, including Norse Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life in Judaic and Christian cosmology, and various Indo-European sacred trees. Folkard traces how this archetypal symbol represents the axis mundi, connecting heaven, earth, and the underworld.

Through plant symbolism, Folkard reveals how ancient cultures projected cosmic order onto vegetal forms. Trees become not merely objects of worship but metaphysical structures — living diagrams of the universe. This symbolic function of plants reinforces their role as mediators between the human and the divine.

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Witchcraft, Magic, and Ritual Use of Plants

A significant portion of the book explores the ritual and magical use of herbs in European folk traditions. Folkard documents flying ointments, love spells, protection charms, fertility rites, and divinatory practices involving plants such as mandrake, belladonna, henbane, and mugwort.

Rather than sensationalizing witchcraft, Folkard approaches these practices as culturally embedded systems of meaning and survival. He situates them within agricultural cycles, healing traditions, and communal rituals, showing how plant magic functioned as both spiritual technology and social medicine.

This nuanced treatment offers modern readers a corrective to simplistic or sensational narratives about witches and herbalists, restoring historical depth and cultural context.

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Spirits of Plants and Trees

Another central theme is the belief in plant and tree spirits — dryads, hamadryads, fauns, satyrs, elves, fairies, and nature sprites. Folkard demonstrates that these beings were not merely fanciful inventions but symbolic representations of humanity’s relationship with the natural world.

These spirits functioned as guardians, intermediaries, and embodiments of natural forces. By attributing consciousness and agency to plants, pre-modern cultures cultivated ethical relationships with forests, groves, and sacred trees. Folkard’s documentation of these beliefs preserves a worldview that recognized ecological interdependence long before modern environmentalism.

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Plants in Death, Burial, and Funeral Customs

Folkard devotes significant attention to the symbolism of plants in death rituals and funeral customs. Flowers such as yew, cypress, rosemary, and lilies appear as symbols of mourning, remembrance, immortality, and resurrection. He traces how specific plants became associated with graves, memorial rites, and the afterlife across different cultures and historical periods.

These practices reveal how plants serve as emotional mediators in times of loss, transforming grief into symbolic expression. Folkard’s documentation provides invaluable insight into the cultural psychology of death and the vegetal metaphors through which it has been understood.

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The Plant Encyclopedia: A Monumental Reference Work

The second half of the book consists of a nearly 200-page Plant Encyclopedia, making Plant Lore, Legends & Lyrics not only a thematic study but also a practical reference work. Each entry provides:

• Folkloric beliefs and legends

• Symbolic meanings

• Literary references

• Medicinal and magical uses

• Cultural and ritual associations

This encyclopedic structure allows readers to consult the book both linearly and non-linearly, making it equally useful for scholars, writers, herbalists, artists, and practitioners of folk traditions.

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Literary Authority and Canonical Integration

Folkard’s extensive use of literary sources — especially Shakespeare — situates plant symbolism within the Western literary canon. By quoting poetry, drama, and classical texts, Folkard demonstrates how folklore permeates high culture and how literary language preserves symbolic meanings long after their ritual origins have faded.

This literary integration elevates plant lore from rural superstition to cultural heritage, reinforcing the legitimacy of folk knowledge within intellectual history.

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Author Richard Folkard

Richard Folkard (1833–1911) was a British journalist, editor, and writer with a strong interest in folklore, literature, and cultural history. He is best known for Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics (1884), though he also contributed extensively to Victorian periodicals and edited literary and educational works.

Folkard worked as a journalist and editor in London, and his career placed him at the heart of nineteenth-century literary culture. While not formally trained as a folklorist or botanist, he belonged to the Victorian tradition of learned amateurs whose wide reading and archival instincts produced foundational reference works. His scholarship reflects the intellectual climate of the late nineteenth century, when folklore was emerging as a recognized field and there was a strong impulse to preserve oral traditions perceived as endangered by industrialization and modernization.

Despite the enduring importance of Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics, Folkard himself remains relatively obscure, with limited surviving biographical documentation. His legacy rests primarily on this work, which continues to be cited in studies of plant symbolism, folklore, and literary culture.

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Why This New Complete Edition Matters

VAMzzz Publishing’s new edition restores the full original text, including the three special indexes that are often omitted in later publications. These indexes significantly enhance the book’s usability, allowing readers to navigate themes, plant names, and symbolic categories with precision.

The edition also includes carefully curated illustrations that enrich the reading experience and honor the visual culture of nineteenth-century botanical literature. By restoring the work to its complete form, this edition ensures that Folkard’s vision is preserved in its full scholarly and cultural depth.

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Who Should Read This Book?

Plant Lore, Legends & Lyrics is essential reading for:

• Folklorists and cultural historians

• Herbalists and ethnobotanists

• Writers, poets, and artists

• Practitioners of witchcraft, Wicca, and pagan traditions

• Scholars of myth, religion, and symbolism

• Plant lovers and nature enthusiasts

Whether approached as a scholarly reference, a poetic archive, or a spiritual companion, the book offers profound insight into humanity’s symbolic relationship with the vegetal world.

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Final Reflection

More than a century after its first publication, Plant Lore, Legends & Lyrics remains unmatched in scope, depth, and cultural sensitivity. Richard Folkard’s work reminds us that plants are not merely biological entities but living symbols — carriers of memory, meaning, ritual, and imagination.

In an age increasingly disconnected from the natural world, this book offers not only historical knowledge but also a symbolic re-enchantment of nature. It invites readers to rediscover the poetic, spiritual, and mythic dimensions of the plants that surround us — and to recognize that human culture itself is, in many ways, rooted in leaves, roots, and flowers.

This article is part of VAMZZZ’s ongoing exploration of occult traditions, folklore, and esoteric history.

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You may also like to read:

Witches ointment
Herbs of the Devil
The Mystical Mandrake
Little Secrets of the Poppy
Datura stramonium or jimson weed or zombi-cucumber