A mullein flower

“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”” (Isaiah 40:8)

This lovely mullein flower (Verbascum boerhavii) which I photographed in Barcelona (Serra d’Obac) at the end of the springtime only lives for one season, even though the plant on which it flowers is biennial.

It was given its scientific name by the great naturalist, Carlos Linneo. “Verbascum” refers to the plants beard or hair-like covering, while “boeravii” is an epithet which it received in honour of the German botanist Hermann Boerhaave (1668-1738).

The Bible often makes reference to the transitory character of flowers as a metaphor for the evanescence of human life compared with the eternal nature of God and his Word.

In a world in which everything is subject to the passing of time and the inexorable entropy of decay, true wisdom consists in taking hold of that which is truly immutable and everlasting.