Nezahualcóyotlean Musings. Kalanchoe pumila, Madagascar Stonecrop, Jardín Botánico de Chapultepec, Mexico City, Mexico

Nezahualcóyotle (1402-1472 CE), the ruler of Texoco, is said to have been the founder of the Jardín Botánico de Chapultepec. He would not have known this exotic plant flowering in the garden today: Kalanchoe pumila, a Stonecrop, hails from central Madagascar - its name derives from China -, but it thrives wonderfully in the climate of Mexico City.

The left inset has a sculpture of Xochipilli, the Patron of Flowers, Tlalmanalco. He is associated with the hallucinogenic qualities of plants. On the right is a flowering plant from Techinantitla.

Besides a ruler, Nezahualcóyotle was also a patron of the arts and himself a poet. His pre-christian work has endured and a poem of his is printed on the 100-peso note of the Bank of Mexico. its English translation (according to Wikipedia) is:

 

'I love the song of the mockingbird,

Bird of four hundred voices,

I love the color of jade

And the enervating scent of the flowers,

But I love most my brother, man.'

 

 

Done