The Criminal Flower

According to my handy flower dictionary, the unassuming Tamarisk tree is associated with the quality of criminality.

The Tamarisk, an ancient flower mentioned more than once in the Bible, is also said to be the favorite flower of the god Apollo in Greek mythology. How it came to be representative of all things criminal I do not know, but one does not question the Bulfinch Guide.

The ancients believed that the tamarisk was unlucky, although it was said, in mythology, to have shielded the dead body of Osiris from Typhon. In the Old Testament, the tamarisk trees were the ones from which manna fell in the desert.

In general they were believed to have magical powers, and yet to be "unlucky."

Perhaps they should be associated more with paradox than with criminality.

Photo link here.