Mystical-botanical protection against the risks of giving birth (Spain)
The rose of Jericho (Anastaticahierochuntica) originated in the deserts of Syria and was used to ease delivery. Different responses to a questionnaire by the Ateneo de Madrid at the beginning of the 20th century say that “wealthy families” used the rose of Jericho. Information gathered in Huete (Cuenca, Spain) describes it thus:
It is quite common during difficult deliveries to put a rose of Jericho in water, as they say it has the virtue of opening the woman’s parts as the rose itself opens up.
Photo, Francisco Rodríguez Pérez
Originally from the desert areas of South and Central American, the so called “falsa rosa de Jericó” ” (Selaginella lepidophylla) was introduced in Spain at an unknown date, and used for birth protection. Today it is much more frequent than that of Syria in Spanish herbalists for different uses, and is also available in Morocco, where it can be purchased in street stalls, such as those in the Jamaa Al-Fna square in Marrakech.
1959. Fake Rose of Jericho, Barcelona, Catalonia (Spain)