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There
are two versions of this story, or maybe two different stories; A brief mention in the Golden Legend and a
rather long and involved one in the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew than you can
read in full here.
The Golden Legend tells us that:
Cassiodorus tells us in
his Tripartite History that in
Hermopolis, in the Thiebaid, there is a tree called Persidis. If a fruit,
or leaf, or piece of bark from this tree is applied to a sick person’s
neck, they will be cured. This tree bent down to the ground and worshipped
Christ when the blessed Mary
fled to Egypt.
In the Matthew story a fig tree is involved. It obligingly bowed down
so that Joseph could pick the figs and feed his hungry family. This is
followed by an involved tale of angels carrying off a branch of the tree
to Paradise.
There is a similar story in the Qu'ran, (Sura 19:22-26) possibly based
on an early apocryphal text but it is not linked to an account of a Flight
into Egypt.
In Italian art, apocryphal tales of bowing trees and so
on became less frequent as the years passed, and the Council of Trent
reinforced this trend. sadly, religious art became duller as a
consequence. Cheering, then, that Poussin managed to sneak one into his
picture.
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