Sacred Sierra (47 page)

Similar in appearance to the holm oak is the kermes oak (
quercus
coccifera
; Coscolla
Val.;
Coscoja
Cast.), a smaller, bush-like evergreen plant with similar, holly-like leaves. It is often seen growing around the base of the holm oak, producing a thick covering rarely rising above one metre from the ground. In
The White Goddess
, Robert Graves suggests the original ‘holly’ associated with the Holly Knight who battles every year against the Oak Knight was in fact the holly or kermes oak. Apart from the similarity of their leaves, the ‘scarlet-oak’, as it was also known, is host to the berry-like kermes insect from which red dye was made in ancient and classical times. There are associations and echoes of the Oak Knight and the Holly Knight in both Gawain and the Green Knight, and John the Baptist and Jesus respectively. The Green Knight enters Arthur’s court brandishing a holly branch, while, according to Matthew’s gospel, Jesus wore ‘kerm-scarlet’ when dressed as King of the Jews.

JUNIPER

(
Juniperus communis; Ginebre
Val.;
Enebro
Cast.)

Forest fires have wiped out most of the oldest specimens of this conical tree, but younger ones can be seen sprouting all over the countryside, especially at the colder, higher altitudes, where they poke out of the rocky soil with the promise that one day, some years from now, this will again be a proper juniper forest such as the ones that stood there in the past. It is a prickly plant, its little spindles flashing like stars in the sunlight as you brush past it, savouring the distinctive aroma that rubs off on to your hands, reminding you of sharp perfumes, incense and gin. It is a slow grower, and its wood, along with its cousins the
savina
(
juniperus phoenicea
) and
càdec
(
juniperus oxycedrus
– Spanish cedar), was prized by local builders for its sinewy strength and resistance to woodworm and other invertebrate threats. Now it is illegal to cut them down.

According to classical legend, juniper was one of the ingredients Medea used to send the dragon guarding the Golden Fleece to sleep. Locally, it is regarded as being effective for treating fevers: pieces of the root are cut up and then boiled until the water has been reduced by
about
half: the fever will be stopped almost immediately. The juniper berry is said to give long life, either by an individual eating three or four a day, or by drinking the juice in an infusion. Placing them in your mouth and chewing very slowly is also supposed to help fight respiratory infections. The oil from the berry is supposed to cure toothache, although it can also damage and even break the tooth it is meant to be treating.

LAUREL

(
Laurus nobilis; Laurel, Llorer
Val.;
Laurel
Cast.)

Common to the entire Mediterranean area, the laurel is a regular flavouring agent in most regional cuisines. Locally, it is used in meat stews such as a
tombet
.

The laurel is usually associated with Apollo, to whom the Pythian Games were dedicated: similar to the Olympics, they are the origin of awarding a laurel wreath to the winner of a sporting event; victorious Roman generals were also garlanded in this fashion. The story of how the laurel became sacred to Apollo refers to his unsuccessful wooing of Daphne, a mountain nymph, priestess of Gaia, Mother Earth. The laurel, which until that point had been eaten by priestesses of Gaia at the oracle of Delphi, now passed over to the young god, who became the overseer of prophesy.

In the apocryphal gospel of Pseudo-Matthew, the laurel plays a role in the miraculous pregnancy of St Anna, mother to the Virgin Mary. Despairing in old age of never having a child, she sees a swallow’s nest in a laurel tree and prays to God that she might become pregnant. St Anna is particularly important to Gypsies, who celebrate her feast day on 26 July. This is reflected in an Andalusian folk song:

Entre los árboles todos

se señorea el laurel
;

entre las mujeres Ana

entre flores el clavel
.

Among the trees,

The greatest is the laurel,

Among women, Anna,

And among flowers, the carnation.

Medicinally, the laurel is used to stimulate appetite. Laurel berries mixed with juniper berries and left to soak in wine are also supposed to help women regain their menstrual cycles.

Ibn al-Awam says the laurel is good for keeping snakes at bay, as they dislike the tree intensely. A branch of laurel hung near a crying baby is also meant to help calm him, he says.

MASTIC

(
Pistacia lentiscus; Matissa
Val.;
Lentisco
Cast.)

Mastic is the original chewing gum, said to be good both for teeth and gums, as well as the stomach. In the Eastern Mediterranean, small cuts are made in the branches of the bush to collect the sap, which is then used in making toothpaste, perfumes, hair and skin lotions, as well as modern chewing gum and varnish. This practice is less common in the Western Mediterranean, where traditionally it is used more in infusions to cure gastric problems, as well as rheumatism and haemorrhoids. Locally, mastic baths are said to sooth aching feet, while a mastic mouthwash was used before extracting teeth to prevent heavy bleeding.

Often found in or around areas of holm oaks, it usually grows no more than a metre in height, with small, round, red berries, turning black as they ripen. It is less resistant to the cold, and is rarely found above 1000 metres.

MISTLETOE

(
Viscum album; Visc
, Val.;
Muérdago
, Cast.)

Mistletoe has an important place in folklore here, although its pagan origins have been given a Catholic veneer. This venerated, parasitic
plant
is associated with St Lucy’s Day (13 December,
La festa de Sta Llúcia
), the first day of Christmas, when schools traditionally break up for the holidays. The link with St Lucy – patron saint of the blind, but also of farmers and writers – is unclear, but may be to do with the symbolism linking the mistletoe (the ‘Golden Bough’) with the sun and light: because her eyes were cast out before her execution at the hands of the Romans, St Lucy is closely associated with all things to do with sight.

The custom is to take some mistletoe on 13 December and hang it up at midday over a door or a window in the house. It is then left there for the whole year, absorbing any bad luck that might otherwise have entered the home. Having dried out over a few months, the typical grey-green of the plant becomes a deep yellow, hence ‘golden’ in the pagan tradition. On the following 13 December it is cut down and burnt, thus disposing of the unwanted forces captured therein, and a new sprig is hung up in its place.

St Lucy’s Day marks the first of a series of midwinter feast days with their own proverbs and sayings describing the lack of daylight.

Per Santa Llucia, un pas de puça

Per Nadal, un pas de gall
.

Around St Lucy’s, the day is about as short as a ‘flea’s footstep’, while by Christmas it’s the same as that of a chicken. However by the Feast of St Anthony, on 17 January, you can already tell that the light is on its way back:
A San Antón, a les cinc en sol
– there’ll still be light by five o’clock in the afternoon.

MULBERRY

(
Morus nigra, morus alba; Morera
Val. & Cast.)

Long before oranges became the principal crop – and symbol – of the Valencia region, mulberry trees covered the landscape, providing as they did the necessary nourishment for the much-prized silk worm. Silk was one of the main industries on which the area’s wealth was
based
, peaking around the eighteenth century, before witnessing a steep decline towards the end of the nineteenth century as a result of the cheaper silk imports coming from the Far East. Today mulberry farming for silk production has disappeared, but many towns still have Mulberry Squares, or Mulberry Streets, bearing witness to the importance this proud tree with its broad, heart-shaped leaves used to have.

According to classical myth, the colour of the berry – a deep blood red or purple – is a result of the deaths of the ill-fated lovers Pyramus and Thisbe, whose tragic tale was first told by Ovid, before appearing in
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
. Agreeing to meet by night under a mulberry tree outside the town, Pyramus discovers Thisbe’s bloodstained shawl and, mistakenly thinking his beloved is dead, plunges his sword into his heart. Thisbe, on realising what has happened, then does likewise and the blood of the two stains the fruits of the nearby tree, which until that moment had been white.

The story of how the silk worm – and hence the silk industry – first reached Spain reads more like a thriller. Yahya al-Ghazal – John the Gazelle – was a poet and astrologer living in Cordoba in the ninth century. The emir, Abd al-Rahman II, sent him as an ambassador to the court of Constantinople – then, along with Baghdad, the most important city in the world. The Byzantines had been trying to get hold of silk-making knowhow for centuries, being effectively cut off from the Silk Road by their rivals in Persia. By around the sixth century, however, they had managed to get hold of some silk worms –
bombyx mori
– probably from the hands of some Indian monks. They jealously guarded the secret, creating an effective monopoly of silk production in the Mediterranean. When al-Ghazal travelled to Constantinople in 840, he was sent with the aim of gleaning as much information as he could from the Byzantine court, and one of his objectives was discovering the secret of silk production. His hosts gladly showed him their mulberry trees and silk worms once he arrived, but made extra efforts to ensure none of the precious grubs were stolen. Al-Ghazal was too clever for them, however, and managed to smuggle some of the worms out with him, hidden inside a book, along with some mulberry leaves to feed them for his journey home. Once he got back to Cordoba a silk
industry
was established, and as a result for many centuries Spain was one of the world’s most important producers of the material, eclipsing the Byzantines. Al-Ghazal, whose poetry is known for its simplicity and almost modern style in an age of mostly formal, formulaic verse, was also responsible for the valuable extraction of fig-tree seeds for propagation.

Ibn al-Awam says that silk worms can feed on mulberry leaves from the second year after planting; the tree, he insists, needs plentiful water.

The fruit is said to be effective against throat and mouth inflammations, particularly when mixed with honey to make a syrup: two parts honey to one of mulberry juice.

NETTLE TREE

(
Celtis australis; Llidoner
Val.;
Almez
Cast.)

A common tree in the area, suited to the dry conditions and capable of growing as easily on mountain terraces as in gorges or river banks. Sometimes referred to as the Lote tree, it is similar in looks to the much depleted elm, and often grows in the same areas as the few remaining specimens of that tree. The fruits of the tree –
llidons
– turn black when ripe and look like a small cherry. They are very sweet and much sought after. Ibn al-Awam says the wood is useful for making saddles and carriages.

Green, unripe
llidons
are valued in traditional medicine as an astringent and are used to reduce diarrhoea as well as heavy bleeding.

Dioscorides and other Greek writers referred to the
celtis australis
as the Lotus or Lote tree, associated with the ‘lotus-eaters’, or
lotophagi
of the
Odyssey
, who live on an island off the North African coast and eat a delicious, drug-like fruit. This has led some to conclude that the ‘Lote-tree’ mentioned in the Qur’an during Muhammad’s night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, and thence to heaven, is in fact the
celtis australis
. The tree in the text marks a boundary point of the seventh heaven beyond which no one can advance in their search for God. However, the Arabic word used in the Qur’an to describe the tree is
sidra
, which is the term for the Ziziphus – another contender for the
mythical
tree of the lotus-eaters – while the Arabic for
celtis australis
is
al-maysh
, reflected in the Castilian name for the tree,
almez
. The
celtis australis
may or may not be the tree of the classical tradition, but it seems unlikely to be the particular tree envisaged in the Qur’an.

Due to its strength, nettle-tree wood was traditionally used locally for making walking sticks and three- or five-pronged farmers rakes. One of the last masters of this ancient craft lived until very recently in the village of Aín, in the Sierra de Espadán.

OLIVE

(
Olea europea; Olivera
Val.;
Olivo
Cast.)

Ibn al-Awam quotes Abu al-Khayr as saying that olive trees dislike damp soil, much as their oil separates from water. Olive trees have been around in Castellón province for thousands of years, and some of the ones still standing date back to Roman times. Regularly pollarded and pruned, they have grown short and fat over the centuries, their stumpy, twisted forms found scattered over the lower hillsides, between the coast and the higher mountain ranges. Many have become celebrated. One, near the town of Atzeneta, has become so big and hollow that someone has built a door into it, so visitors can properly step inside and out.

The oil from the area is among the best in Spain, but as it’s mostly made for personal consumption, it’s very rare to find it on sale. Oil for export is left to the Andalusians of Jaén province much further south, who produce more than anyone else in the world.

Olive trees are sacred to the Virgin, a natural follow-on from their classical association with Athena. Smaller religious statues, such as figures of the Madonna, were usually carved in olive wood, while one of Mary’s many official attributes is
oliva speciosa
– ‘fair olive tree’. Perhaps for this reason many of the Madonnas miraculously discovered in the years after the conquest of the area from the Moors were found in or near olive trees.