Planting two new plane trees with a long history

They are specimens of the species Platanus orientalis

‘Healing sometimes, relieving often and always comforting’ Hippocrates

Last January we planted two planes in the Marimurtra Botanical Garden. This seemingly irrelevant fact could have been one of the most common plantations we do in the garden. What makes it different, however, is the species in question, the Platanus orientalis, a tree from the eastern Mediterranean, difficult to see in our country and hitherto absent from the Marimurtra collection. It differs from the planes found in the parks, squares and streets of towns and cities, in that, according to experts, it is a hybrid between Platanus occidentalis, from the United States.

Apart from the botanical factor itself, the story that accompanies his arrival in the garden should be unerlined, both in terms of the people who took part and the associated symbolism. These copies have been donated by Salvador Ordóñez, general coordinator of the Wood and Furniture Guild until 2020 and founder of World Wood Future, through Mercè Compte i Barceló, a graduate in Fine Arts and an associate professor at the University of Barcelona, ​​but in this is actually a donation from the Hippocrates Legacy Movement Association http://hippocratic-movement.org/.

Who was Hippocrates, what is the mission of the association and what is the relationship with the plane?
Hippocrates (460-380 BC), is considered the father of medicine. The Hippocrates Legacy Movement Association is made up of health professionals who promote the timeless foundations of medical ethics. They promote this initiative to bring the representation of the work of Hippocrates to different universities, thus stating that they follow the holistic and humanistic vision of the patient who defended Hippocrates. At the end of his medical career, the Hippocratic oath is being taken, an ethical manifesto on medical practices.
Finally, we would like to mention that these specimens come from Kos, Greece, where Hippocrates was a native. This is a cut from the legendary tree of Hippocrates. According to legend, the father of medicine taught his disciples under the branches of this tree and the Association used to plant it near the bust, as a living symbol of homage.
It is not uncommon for Faust to refer to his ideal for Marimurtra and his use of the garden with a Greek philosopher such as Epicurus. Today, through this donation, we can also add the name Hippocrates.

“In short, I am cultivating relationships, because I consider them necessary to be able to realize my ideal, which is Blanes turned into a small ‘Republic of Biologists’ or, thinking in Greek, a ‘Epicurean Garden of Biologists’ where they can wise and students, far from the noise of the big city, detached from everyday life, in the middle of an interesting garden, an ideal climate and a Hellenic landscape, dedicate themselves entirely to the creation of ideal values ​​and the search for the unique truth ”

Letter from Faust to Four Houses (1938?)