Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1874-01-29
The Resurrection Flower.

ANlOO9 t0O CuTlObltlC6 VI UAO HUM
kingdom none is more truly extraor-
binary than that which is termed the
Resurrection Flower, and which may
10 seen on Broadway almost any day
when Il street dealer has it tor sale
The flower, until lately, has been con.
sidered very rare. Bishop Wainwright
mentions Of obtaining two while he
was in Egypt. DR.. j. Beck gives q
history of q flower he obtained in the
East. A stem, on which were two
seemingly dried up seed vessels OF
some plant, was given him by an Arab
for medicinal service rendered. He was
assured that many years previously it
had been taken from an Egyptian mum
NV, and was aataasoad-a oraat ,raritv.
as few had been obtained in tho last
century. Humboldt, to whom Dr.. Beck
presented the flower, acknowledged
that in his extensive travels in all
parts of the world he had met with
nothing like it in the vegetable king
and nothing ~ truly wonderful.
Comparatively speaking, it will never
decay if properly cared for. Its origin,
its location, md the plant bearing it
are entirely wrapped in mystery. The
attractive Oriental tale of its being
found in q mummy is rejected, because
no similar flower has been found by
those who have had the most expe'
rience in uurolling the ancient dead.
On examining the flower in its expand
ed state, it resembles both in shape
aud color q dried poppyhead with the
stem attached. Upon being immersed
in q glass of water a minute or two, and
set upright in the neck of q small phial,
in a few minutes the uprerpetaIs begin
to burst open, gradually, yet visibly
to the eye. They continue to ex'
pand until, throwing themselves back
in equidistant order, there is presented
beautifully radiated starry flower,
resembling both the passion
flower and the sunfiower. The unfold
ing still continues until the petals
bend backward over what may be
termed the base of the flower, present
ing in bold relief in its centre, itsrosette
of the most exquisite form and orna-
After remaining open an
hour or more, the moisture gradually
itself, and the fbres of the
contract IA gradually as they ex-
banded, and it assumes its original ap-
pearance, ready to be unfolded again
by the same simple process, the num-
Der of times seeming to be limited only
to the will of the possessor.
DR.. Peck suggests that the flower is
. native of tho Holy Land, and is a
type or variety of the long-lost o 8 of
Jericho-called, also, the "rose of
and the 'star of Bethle-
and highly venerated for it's
and peculiar properties by the
and Crusaders, and eagerly
after by them as a priceless en-
blem of their zeal and pilgrimage, and
worn on their escutcheons in q similar
manner as the scollop and balm
branch. This idea is strengthened by
the fact that resemblances of the flow
81, Doth opened and closed, are
on two of the tombs
of the Crusaders buried in the Temple
Church of London, and also in the
of Bayeaux and Rouen, in
It's botanical position is
difficult to assign, as it presents some
of the p%eculiarities of the highest and
the lowest classes. The opinion most
sanctioned is that the flower is the per.
carp, or seed vessel of the plant; that
it grows in sandy or desert places, and
falls in course OF time, from the parent
stem. Retaining it's seed in an arid
soil and atmosphere, it is for months
and years waited about by the winds,
but, from lack of moisture, keeping
Eventually it falls upon some
damp spot, when it opens, deposits it's
seeds, and thus by a most exquisite
adaptation of means to an end, exhibit.
ed in this beautiful phenomena of Nd
ture, the work of reproduction is com
menced and concluded.