Table 2 Plants used in graveyards – white-flowered plants.
Species | Frequency of appearance (%) | Reference from the Middle East and adjacent countries | References from other regions (also for funerals, immortality and mourning symbols, and death myths). |
|---|---|---|---|
Narcissus – Narcissus tazetta L. (Amarylliadaceae) | 41.3 |  | Ancient Greece [21:68–269; 35:248; 36:430; 37:148]; Rome [77:31]; England [30:148] |
Sea squill – Urginea maritima (l.) Baker (Liliaceae) | 37.9 |  |  |
Day Cestrum – Cestrum diurnum L. (Solanaceae) | 27.5 |  |  |
Iris-Mainly Iris albicans W. Barley and I. mesopotamica Dyes (Iridaceae) | 24.1 | Palestine [39:296; 81:812]; Syria (16th century, [82:63]; North Africa [S. Jury Pers. Comm.] | Muslim cemeteries from Spain to Kashmir [21:64–65]. India [Muslims, 78:39] |
Sea daffodil – Pancratium maritimum L. and P. parviflorum Delile (Amaryllidaceae) | 22.2 |  | Late Minoan [7:176–184] |
Rose – Rosa sp. (Rosaceae) | 20.0 |  | Ancient Greece and Rome (Red flowers! [83:219] and references therein); England [5:184–185; 14:102] |
White Arum-Lily – Zantedeshcia aetiopica Sprengl. (Araceae) | 20.0 |  | France [1:284] |
Asphodel – Asphodelus ramosus Miller (=A. aestivus Brot.) (Liliaceae) | 6.8 | Turkey [75:18] | Minoan Crete [84:55]; Ancient Greece, (symbol of death, [21:65; 38: XI, 539–543, XXIV, 13;], planting on graves [31:157; 75:18; 85:62], as a funeral plant, [86:300]). Modern Greece [87:100–101]. |
Virgin Mary Lily – Lilium candidum L. (Liliaceae) | 0 |  | Rome [77:30]; Europe [20, II:324]; Germany [31:12]; England [14:102; 30:228] |