FALL
Fall
Edited by: Béla Bánkuti Photos: Béla Bánkuti Copyright © 2013 by the Author Budapest, Hungary 2013
FALL
Acorn Apple Chestnut Common fig Hazelnut Rose hip Medlar Quince Walnut
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ACORN
The acorn, or oak nut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera Quercus and Lithocarpus, in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains a single seed (rarely two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne in a cup-shaped cupule. Acorns vary from 1–6 cm long and 0.8–4 cm broad. Acorns take between about 6 and 24 months (depending on the species) to mature; see List of Quercus species for details of oak classification, in which acorn morphology and phenology are important factors.
A motif in Roman architecture and popular in Celtic and Scandinavian art, the symbol is used as an ornament on cutlery, jewelry, furniture, and appears on finials at Westminster Abbey. The Gothic name akran had the sense of “fruit of the unenclosed land”. The word was applied to the most important forest produce, that of the oak. Chaucer spoke of “achornes of okes” in the 14th century. By degrees, popular etymology connected the word both with “corn” and “oak-horn”, and the spelling changed accordingly.
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APPLE
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family (Rosaceae). It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apples grow on small, deciduous trees. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, Malus sieversii, is still found today. Apples have been grown for thousands of years in Asia and Europe, and were brought to North America by European colonists.
Apples appear in many religious traditions, often as a mystical or forbidden fruit. One of the problems identifying apples in religion, mythology and folktales is that as late as the 17th century, the word “apple” was used as a generic term for all (foreign) fruit other than berries, but including nuts. This term may even have extended to plant galls, as they were thought to be of plant origin (see oak apple). For instance, when tomatoes were introduced into Europe, they were called “love apples”.
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CHESTNUT
The chestnut group is a genus (Castanea) of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The chestnut belongs to the same family as the oak and beech. The four main species are commonly known as European, Chinese, Japanese and American chestnuts, some species called chinkapin or chinquapin.
Many Native American Indian tribes (indigenous to the northeast) held fertility & abundance as the prime symbolic meaning of chestnuts because of its prolific production of nuts. The symbolism of longevity and provision were touted in the 12th century when Christian mystic Hildegard von Bingen extolled the virtues of the chestnut, including their propensity to prolong life when consumed in natural remedies.
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COMMON FIG
The common fig (Ficus carica) is a species of flowering plant in the genus Ficus, from the family Moraceae, known as the common fig (or just the fig), anjeer (Hindi), and dumur (Bengali). It is the source of the fruit also called the fig, and as such is an important crop in those areas where it is grown commercially. Native to the Middle East and western Asia, it has been sought out and cultivated by man since ancient times, and is now widely grown throughout the temperate world, both for its fruit and as an ornamental plant.
The fig tree is one of the more frequently mentioned trees in the Scriptures. It was from its leaves that Adam and Eve made their first covering (Gen. 3:7). The fig tree was valued first of all for its delicious, sweet fruit (Judges 9:11). It was also a symbol of prosperity and security: “and Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree” (1 Kings 4:25). It was an enjoyable thing to rest, meditate on God’s word, and pray in the shade of the fig tree. (John 1:48)
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HAZELNUT
A hazelnut is the nut of the hazel and is also known as cobnut or filbert nut according to species. A cob is roughly spherical to oval, about 15–25 mm long and 10–15 mm in diameter, with an outer fibrous husk surrounding a smooth shell. The nut falls out of the husk when ripe, about seven to eight months after pollination. The kernel of the seed is edible and used raw or roasted, or ground into a paste. Hazelnuts are also used for livestock feed, as are chestnuts and acorns. The seed has a thin, dark brown skin, which is sometimes removed before cooking.
The hazelnut has been known from time immemorial. The Greeks and Romans ate the nut because of its exceptional flavour. The hazelnut was used as medication in the old days. Not only the nut was used, the bark and leaves of the tree were also used against various ailments. Furthermore, the tree was the symbol of marriage, abundance of wealth and family happiness. The hazelnut was seen, as it were, as the symbol of peace and health and a source of wealth and power.
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ROSE HIP
The rose hip, also known as rose haw or rose hep, is the fruit of the rose plant, that typically is red-to-orange, but ranges from dark purple to black in some species. Rose hips begin to form after successful pollination of flowers in spring or early summer, and ripen in late summer through autumn. Roses are propagated from hips by removing the achenes that contain the seeds from the hypanthium (the outer coating) and sowing just beneath the surface of the soil. The seeds can take many months to germinate.
Rose hips are particularly high in vitamin C content, one of the richest plant sources available. However, RP-HPLC assays of fresh rose hips and several commercially available products revealed a wide range of L-ascorbic acid content, ranging from 0.03 to 1.3%. Rose hips of some species, especially Rosa canina (Dog Rose) and R. majalis, have been used as a source of vitamin C.
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MEDLAR
Mespilus germanica, known as the medlar or common medlar, is a large shrub or small tree, and the name of the fruit of this tree. The fruit has been cultivated since Roman times, and is unusual in being available in winter, and in being eaten when ‘bletted’ (browned by rot). It is eaten raw and in a range of dishes.
The medlar was already being cultivated about three thousand years ago in the Caspian Sea region of northern Iran. It was introduced to Greece around 700 BC, and to Rome about 200 BC. It was an important fruit plant during Roman and medieval times. By the 17th and 18th century, however, it had been superseded by other fruits, and is little cultivated today.
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QUINCE
The quince, is a small, deciduous tree that bears a pome fruit, similar in appearance to a pear, and bright golden-yellow when mature. The fruit is edible when cooked and there is a long history of this, but the tree is also grown for its attractive pale pink blossom and other ornamental qualities. Quince, Cydonia oblonga, is the sole member of the genus Cydonia in the family Rosaceae (which also contains apples and pears).
It is believed that the quince long preceded the apple, and that many ancient references to apples were, in fact, references to quince, including the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Greek mythology associates the quince with Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and many believe that the golden apple given to her by Paris was a quince. Ancient Greeks associated the quince with fertility, and it played an important role in wedding celebrations.
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WALNUT
Walnuts are rounded, single-seeded stone fruits of the walnut tree. The walnut fruit is enclosed in a green, leathery, fleshy husk. This husk is inedible. After harvest, the removal of the husk reveals the wrinkly walnut shell, which is in two halves. This shell is hard and encloses the kernel, which is also made up of two halves separated by a partition. The seed kernels — commonly available as shelled walnuts — are enclosed in a brown seed coat which contains antioxidants. The antioxidants protect the oil-rich seed from atmospheric oxygen thereby preventing rancidity.
Walnut’s three most potent meanings are of sexuality and toughness - and even though all nuts can be reminiscent of manhood, walnuts in particular are ‘the manliest nuts’. Well, in vegitation, anyway. In China, pairs of walnuts have traditionally been rotated and played with in the palm of the hand, both as a means to stimulate blood circulation and as a status symbol.Pairs of large, old and symmetrically shaped walnuts are valued highly and have recently been used as an investment, with some of them fetching tens of thousands of dollars.
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Fall
by BĂŠla BĂĄnkuti Budapest 2013