Page 54 - Растения Сахалинской области в легендах и мифах

One of the Jesuit Fathers was sent to Canada to teach Christianity to
the Indians. In his passionate desire to convey the Word of God, he went

to unknown lands and met a people that did not understand a word of
the language spoken by the neighboring settlements. Desperate to find
contact with them, Holy Father saw beautiful flowers with four petals in
the shape of a cross. He thought that with its help he could explain how
Christ was crucified. But the inhabitants were upset by this cruel story,
and they began to avoid the priest. Then he tore off one of the petals to

tell them about the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. And the leaves
helped to show the miracle of the birth of Christ. The second attempt was
successful, and the father began to pray that the Indians would forever
have a sign reminding them of his teachings. Tohis amazement, he saw
that all the flowers, like the one he had used, now had only three petals.

Viburnum wrightii

(Viburnum wrightii Miq.) V

Deciduous shrub up to
1.5–2 m in height. Leaves
are simple, whole, almost
round, elongated-acute-terminal at the apex,
serratetoothed along the edge, 5–6 cm long.
Inflorescence is a complex umbel up to 15 cm
wide, on a common peduncle up to 2–5 cm
long. Corolla is white, wheel-shaped, 5–7 mm

in diameter, with rounded petals. Fruits are
bright red, almost spherical, juicydrupes.
Occurs on the northern border of the areal:
south of Sakhalin Island (environs of Yuzhno-
Sakhalinsk, Dolinsky, Kholmsky, Anivsky and
Nevelsky districts), island Moneron, Kuril
Islands (Urup, Iturup, Kunashir). Outside
of Russia, it is distributed in the mountains
of the Korean Peninsula and on the adjacent
islands of the Japanese Sea, as well as in the
mountainous regions of all major islands of
Japan.

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