Fern Alli
This may be an odd question to ask, but as I am not very familiar with the practices of Druids I think I better ask: what is it about the plants that you listed that makes it important? I don't mean what is the ritual. I mean is it a property of the specific plant? Evergreen...do you require something with needles? Are you looking for look-alikes or something actually related? I'm sorry if I seem dim. I'm just not sure what you would consider a substitute.
No it's not syupid I should have said in the original post...
Properties/Symbolism? Well it's different for each.
-Evergreen, I assume represents anything that stays green all year because the ceremony is about new life coming after winter (which encompasses most Australian plants so I'd be looking for a species with some kind of common lineage with the original evergreen species, pines conifers...)
-Mistletoe, I assume it's used because of it's association with xmas and the holy day's connection with xmas... I'd use an Australian plant that flowers at xmas time if I wasn't performing the ritual mid year due to the seasons... maybe I could use a winter-flowering plant... :/
-Hawthorn, apparently it's a symbol of blessing and purity. The celebration itself is about the triumph and peak of Spring.
-Vervain, the healing plant of the ancient druids. I'm thinking an aboriginal medicinal plant might be useful for this. (Does anyone know where I can find out about this?)
And Aboriginal lore-delving would be useful if I knew where to look
sad I don't know any aboriginals still in touch with their roots enough to know these things and I don't know of any good books/sites...
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