Joseph did not feel worthy of it and refused, saying that he was already old, that Mary was a girl and that he did not want to be a source of ridicule. But the “Great Priest” rebuked him to fear God more. Thus, Saint Joseph took her under his protection.
On the other hand, in the “Gospel of the Nativity of Mary” (5th century apocryphal) this story is described in a similar way. In the story, single people are called to leave a dry branch on the altar. When the old and widowed Saint Joseph placed his staff, it immediately flourished and everyone knew that he was the one chosen for Mary.
Thanks to these stories, Saint Joseph is painted or represented as someone more adult than the Virgin, even with a white beard and gray hair. Likewise, the staff with flowers is another characteristic of the iconography of Jesus’ adoptive father.