The words “green”, “grass”, and “grow” are all derived from the same root in the German language. It is hard to imagine a clearer equivalence than this between the color green and living green plant life in the natural world. In many cultures, this fundamental association of the color green with life, growth, renewal, and vitality has been manifested in physical representations that range from primitive to sophisticated expressions. Green clothing, costumes, and masks are obvious means to personify nature. By wearing green, immobile & root-bound plant life is given human movement and voice; transforming the wearer into the eyes, ears and legs of botanical Nature itself.
In the west, the modern term “Greenman” is often applied to green-colored or green-clad figures, some of whom represent ancient traditions. The term “Foliate Face” (or Foliate Mask) refers to humanoid faces composed of leaves; the folds and contours of the foliage somehow magically transforming into facial features, as if some artistic oak tree were sculpting human masks with the only material at hand.
Metamorphic botanical faces can be found as decorative ornaments in medieval churches, carved in wood or stone. There are many contemporary artworks that continue these Greenman and Foliate Face traditions. In some of these, the traditional raw material of leaves alone has been expanded to include flowers, seed pods, stems, twigs, and all manner of botanical media.