DESCRIPTION
Mary's Tree, or the Virgin Tree, near the ancient city of Heliopolis in Egypt. According to Coptic tradition, the Holy Family rested and hid themselves beneath the branches of a sycamore tree during an escape from angry Egyptians. Several generations of trees have since grown from the shell of the original sycamore. From “Rip Van Winkle’s Travels in Africa & Asia”, published by Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., New York, 1882.