Corycium orobanchoides (L.f.) Swartz Possibly 1777 - 1786

This is Robert Jacob Gordon's rendering of Corycium orobanchoides in ink and watercolor. The plant, with its distinct spike of flowers, holds a place in the symbolic order far beyond its botanical identity. Consider the motif of the 'spike' or 'column' of clustered florets rising from the earth. This can be traced back through the mists of time, echoing forms found in ancient fertility rites where phallic symbols were meant to invoke the life force of nature. The plant's roots, subtly rendered, suggest an earthly connection, a grounding in the physical world. The spike topped with clusters of green recalls the herm, an ancient Greek image, in which the head of Hermes is placed atop a squared, column-like body, signifying the connection between the human and the divine. It is not simply about the surface-level observation of nature, but the echoes it stirs within our collective psyche, linking us to primal understandings of growth, fertility, and the cyclical nature of life itself.