Posted by Petra (203.26.36.21) on October 07, 2001 at 20:03:27:
In Reply to: wandering jew posted by Richard Brown on October 03, 2001 at 05:27:55:
Wandering Jew (legend)
Wandering Jew (legend), central figure of a legend about a Jew who refused to allow Jesus Christ to rest at his door as he bore his cross toward Calvary. As a result, the Jew was condemned by Jesus to wander over the face of the earth until his second coming. A legend resembling this tale but not identifying the wanderer as a Jew was recorded in medieval times. The wanderer became a Jew in a German work of the 17th century, and thereafter the legend attained great popularity, frequently serving as a vehicle for anti-Semitism. Among its numerous treatments in literature is that of the French novelist Eugène Sue in The Wandering Jew (1844-45).
I assume that, because of its trailing and wandering habit the plant was named after this jewish person.