Chapter XVI: Funeral Trees and Plants (9)

=FLAME TREE.=--The _Nuytsia floribunda_, called the Flame or Fire-tree, is a native of West Australia. This tree is most remarkable in many respects: it belongs to the same Natural Order as the Mistletoe--an order numerous in species, most of those inhabiting warm countries having brilliantly-coloured flowers, and, with two exceptions, strictly parasitical on the branches of other trees. One of these exceptions is the Flame-tree; but although _Nuytsia floribunda_ is terrestrial, and has all the aspect of an independent tree, it is thought to be parasitical on the roots of some neighbouring tree or shrub, because all attempts to rear seedlings have proved unsuccessful. Its trunk is soft, like pith, yet it has a massive appearance. Its gorgeous fiery flowers are more brilliant than flames, for they are undimmed by smoke.

=FLAX.=--There are certain plants which, having been cultivated from time immemorial, are not now to be found in a wild state, and have no particular history. The common Flax (_Linum usitatissimum_) has been thought to be one of these. Flax is mentioned both in Genesis and Exodus: at least Joseph was clothed in _linen_, and the Flax was blighted in the fields. But modern research has shown that the Flax of the ancients was _Linum angustifolium_, the narrow-leaved Flax; and the same fact has been developed in regard to the Flax of the Lake-dwellers in Switzerland.----The fine linen of Egypt is frequently referred to in Scripture, and specimens of this fabric are to be seen in the linen in which the Egyptian mummies are enfolded. That Flax was also grown in ancient times in Palestine, may be inferred from the fact that Rahab hid the Hebrew spies among the Flax spread on her roof.----In the mythology of the North, Flax is supposed to be under the protection of the goddess Hulda, but the plant’s blue blossom is more especially the flower of Bertha, whose blue eyes shine in its calyx, and whose distaff is filled by its fibres.----Indian mysticism likens the grey dawn and the brightening daybreak to luminous linen and its weavers. The celestial bride, Aurora, weaves the nuptial garment--the robe of the celestial bridegroom, the Sun.----The gods attire themselves in luminous robes--white or red, silver or gold. Earthly priests have adopted the white robe in India, Egypt, Asia Minor, Rome, and in all Christian countries. The offspring of the Flax, according to a tradition, represent the rays of the Sun, and clothe the great luminary.----In Sicily, to cure headache produced by exposure to the Sun, they burn, with certain incantations, flaxen tow in a glass, from which they have poured out the water it contained: they then place the glass on a white plate, and the plate on the head of the patient: they contend that by this means they extract from his head, and impart to the Flax, all the virtue of the Sun.----Flax is the symbol of life and of prolific vegetation: on this account, in Germany, when an infant thrives but badly, or does not learn to walk, they place it naked, either in the Spring or on Midsummer-day, upon the turf, and scatter some Flax-seed on this turf and on the infant itself: then, as soon as the Flax commences to grow, the infant should also begin to thrive and to walk.----To dream of Flax is reputed to augur a good and happy marriage; to dream of spinning Flax, however, betokens coming troubles.----There is an old superstition that Flax will only flower at the time of day at which it was originally sown. He who sows it must first seat himself thrice on the sack, turning to the east. Stolen seeds mingled with the rest cause the crop to thrive.----Flax when in bloom acts as a talisman against witchcraft, and sorcery can be practised even with the dry stalks. When the shreds are spun or woven into shirts, under certain incantations, the wearer is secure from accidents or wounds.----It was the goddess Hulda who first taught mortals the art of growing Flax, of spinning, and of weaving it. According to the legendary belief in South Tyrol, she is the especial patroness of the Flax culture in that district. Hulda is also the sovereign of the Selige Fräulein, the happy fairy maidens who keep watch and guard over the Flax-plants. Between Kroppbühl and Unterlassen, is a cave which is believed by the country people to have been the entrance to Queen Hulda’s mountain palace. Twice a year she passed through the valley, scattering blessings around her path--once in Summer, when the blue flowers of the Flax were brightening the fields, and again during the mysterious “twelve nights” immediately preceding our feast of the Epiphany, when, in ancient days, the gods and goddesses were believed to visit the earth. Hulda visited the cottagers’ homes in the Winter nights to examine the distaff. If the Flax was duly spun off, prosperity attended the family; but laziness was punished by trouble and blighted crops. Hulda’s fairy people, the Selige Fräulein, would sometimes visit deserving folks and aid the Flax-spinning: there is a legend that a peasant woman at Vulpera, near Tarash, thinking that she ought to reward her fairy assistants, set before them a sumptuous meal, but they shook their heads sadly, and, giving the poor woman a never-failing ball of cotton, they said, “This is the recompense for thy goodwill--payment for payment,”--and immediately vanished.

=FLEA-BANE.=--The star-shaped yellow Flea-bane, or wild Marigold (_Inula dysenterica_), received its name from the belief that its odour was repulsive to fleas, gnats, and other insects. On the flowers of this plant, as well as on those of _Agnus Castus_, the Grecian women were made to sleep during the feast of Thesmophoria. The Arabs extol this plant highly as a remedy for wounds. One of their traditions records that flowers of the _Inula_, bruised, were used by the patriarch Job as an application to those grievous sores which he so pathetically laments. Hence the Flea-bane is called by the men of the desert “Job’s Tears.”

=FLOS ADONIS.=--In most European countries the Flos Adonis (the dark-crimsoned _Adonis autumnalis_) still retains in its nomenclature a legendary connection with the blood of the unfortunate Adonis, and is called by the Germans _Blutströpfchen_ to the present day.----Just as from the tears of the sorrowing Venus, which fell as she gazed on the bleeding corpse of the beautiful Adonis, there sprang the Anemone, or Wind-flower, so from the blood of the lamented boy which poured forth from the death-wound inflicted by the boar, there proceeded the Adonis-flower, or Flos Adonis. Referring to this, Rapin writes--

“Th’ unhappy fair Adonis likewise flowers,
Whom (once a youth) the Cyprian Queen deplores;
He, though transformed, has beauty still to move
Her admiration, and secure her love;
Since the same crimson blush the flower adorns
Which graced the youth, whose loss the goddess mourns.”

And Shakspeare, in his poem on Venus and Adonis, says--

“By this the boy that by her side lay killed
Was melted like a vapour from her sight;
And in his blood that on the ground lay spilled
A purple flower sprang up, chequered with white,
Resembling well his pale cheeks and the blood
Which in round drops upon their whiteness stood.”

=FLOWER DE LUCE.=--The Iris has obtained this name, which is derived from the French _Fleur de Louis_, from its having been assumed as his device by Louis VII., of France. This title of _Fleur de Louis_ has been changed to Fleur de Luce, _Fleur de Lys_, and _Fleur de Lis_. (See IRIS).----A curious superstition exists in the district around Orleans, where a seventh son without a daughter intervening is called a Marcon. It is believed that the Marcon’s body is marked somewhere with a _Fleur de Lis_, and that if a patient suffering under King’s Evil touch this _Fleur de Lis_, or if the Marcon breathe upon him, the malady will be sure to disappear.

FLOWER GENTLE, or FLORAMOR.--See Amaranth.

=FLOWERS OF HEAVEN.=--Under the names of Rain Tremella and Star Jelly is known a strange gelatinous substance, of no precise form, but of a greenish hue, which creeps over gravelly soils, and is found mixed up with wet Mosses on rocks besides waterfalls: when moist, it is soft and pulpy, but in dry weather it becomes thin, brittle, and black in colour. Linnæus called it _Tremella Nostoc_, but it is now classed with the _Algæ Gloiocladeæ_ under the name of _Nostoc commune_, a name first used by the alchymist Paracelsus, but the meaning of which is unknown. During the middle ages, some extraordinary superstitions were afloat concerning this plant, which was called Cœlifolium, or Flowers of Heaven. By the alchemists it was considered a universal menstruum. The country people in Germany use it to make their hair grow. In England, the country folk of many parts, firmly believed it to be the remains of a falling star, for after a wet, stormy night, these Flowers of Heaven will often be found growing where they were not to be seen the previous evening.

=FLOWERING ROD.=--There is a legend in the Apocryphal Gospel of Mary, according to which Joseph was chosen for Mary’s husband because his rod budded into flower, and a dove settled upon the top of it. In pictures of the marriage of Joseph and Mary, the former generally holds the flowering rod. The rod by which the Lord demonstrated that He had chosen Aaron to be His priest, blossomed with Almond-flowers, and was laid up in the Ark (see ALMOND).

=FORGET-ME-NOT.=--The Forget-me-not is a name which, like the Gilliflower, has been applied to a variety of plants. For more than two hundred years it was given, in England, France, and the Netherlands, to the ground Pine, _Ajuga Chamæpitys_. From the middle of the fifteenth century until 1821, this plant was in all the botanical books called Forget-me-not, on account of the nauseous taste which it leaves in the mouth. Some of the old German botanists gave the name _Vergiss mein nicht_ to the _Chamædrys vera fœmina_, or _Teucrium Botrys_. _Forglemm mig icke_, the corresponding Danish name, was given to the _Veronica chamædrys_. This plant was in English called the Speedwell, from its blossoms falling off and flying away, and “Speedwell” being an old form of leave-taking, equivalent to “Farewell” or “Good-bye.” In the days of chivalry, a plant, whose identity has not been ascertained, was called “_Souveigne vous de moy_,” and was woven into collars. In 1465, one of these collars was the prize at a famous joust, fought between Lord Scales, brother to Elizabeth Woodville, wife of Edward IV., and a French knight of Burgundy. Certain German botanists, as far back as the sixteenth century, seem, however, to have given the name Forget-me-not to the _Myosotis palustris_; and this name has become inseparably connected with the flower, borne on the wings of the following poetic legend:--A knight and his lady-love, who were on the eve of being united, whilst strolling on the bank of the blue Danube, saw a spray of these pretty flowers floating on the waters, which seemed ready to carry it away. The affianced bride admired the delicate beauty of the blossoms, and regretted their fatal destiny. At this hint, the lover did not hesitate to plunge into the stream. He soon secured the flowers, but the current was too strong for him, and as it bore him past his despairing mistress, he flung the fatal flowers on the bank, exclaiming, as he was swept to his doom, “_Vergiss mich nicht!_”

“And the lady fair of the knight so true,
Aye remembered his hapless lot;
And she cherished the flower of brilliant hue,
And braided her hair with the blossoms blue,
And she called it Forget-me-not.”

According to Grimm, the original Forget-me-not was a certain Luck-flower, concerning which there is a favourite legend in Germany (see KEY-FLOWER). And there is another traditional origin of the flower, which for antiquity should have the precedence of all others. According to this version, Adam, when he named the plants in Paradise, cautioned them not to forget what he called them. One little flower, however, was heedless, and forgot its name. Ashamed of its inattention and forgetfulness, the flower asked the father of men, “By what name dost thou call me?” “Forget-me-not,” was the reply; and ever since that humble flower has drooped its head in shame and ignominy.----A fourth origin of the name “Forget-me-not” is given by Miss Strickland in her work on the Queens of England. Writing of Henry of Lancaster (afterwards Henry IV.), she says:--“This royal adventurer, the banished and aspiring Lancaster, appears to have been the person who gave to the _Myosotis_ its emblematical and poetical meaning, by writing it, at the period of his exile, on his collar of S.S., with the initial letter of his _mot_ or watchword, _Souveigne vous de moy_, thus rendering it the symbol of remembrance.” It was with his hostess, at the time wife of the Duke of Bretagne, that Henry exchanged this token of goodwill and remembrance.----The Italians call the _Myosotis, Nontiscordar di me_, and in one of their ballads represent the flower as the embodiment of the spirit of a young girl who was drowned, and transformed into the _Myosotis_ growing by the river’s banks.----The ancient English name of the _Myosotis palustris_ was Mouse-Ear-Scorpion-Grass; “Mouse-Ear” describing the oval leaves, and “Scorpion” the curve of the one-sided raceme, like a scorpion’s tail.----According to some investigators, the Forget-me-not is the Sun-flower of the classics--the flower into which poor Clytie was metamorphosed--the pale blossom which, says Ovid, held firmly by the root, still turns to the sun she loves. Cæsalpinus called it _Heliotropium_, and Gerarde figured it as such. (See HELIOTROPE).----The Germans are fond of planting the Forget-me-not upon their graves, probably on account of its name; for the beauty of the flower is lost if taken far from the water.----It is said that after the battle of Waterloo, an immense quantity of Forget-me-nots sprung up upon different parts of that sanguinary field, the soil of which had been enriched by the blood of heroes.----A writer in ‘All the Year Round’ remarks, that possibly the story of the origin of the Forget-me-not’s sentimental designation may have been in the mind of the Princess Marie of Baden, that Winter day, when, strolling along the banks of the Rhine with her cousin, Louis Napoleon, she inveighed against the degeneracy of modern gallants, vowing they were incapable of emulating the devotion to beauty that characterised the cavaliers of olden times. As they lingered on the causeway-dykes, where the Neckar joins the Rhine, a sudden gust of wind carried away a flower from the hair of the princess, and sent it into the rushing waters. “There!” she exclaimed, “that would be an opportunity for a cavalier of the olden days to show his devotion.” “That’s a challenge, cousin,” retorted Louis Napoleon, and in a second he was battling with the rough waters. He disappeared and reappeared to disappear and reappear again and again, but at length reached the shore safe and sound with his cousin’s flower in his hand. “Take it, Marie,” said he, as he shook himself; “but never again talk to me of your cavalier of the olden time.”

=FOXGLOVE.=--The name of _Digitalis_ (from _digitale_, a thimble or finger-stall) was given to the Foxglove in 1542, by Fuchs, who remarks that hitherto the flower had remained unnamed by the Greeks and Romans. Our forefathers sometimes called it the Finger-flower, the Germans named it _Fingerhut_, and the French _Gantelée_--names all bestowed on account of the form of the flower, regarding which Cowley fancifully wrote--

“The Foxglove on fair Flora’s hand is worn,
Lest while she gather flowers, she meet a thorn.”

The French also term the Foxglove _Gants de Notre Dame_ and _Doigts de la Vierge_. Various explanations have been given as to the apparently inappropriate English name of Foxglove, which is, however, derived from the Anglo-Saxon _Foxes-glof_; and was presumably applied to the flower from some bygone connection it had with the fox, and its resemblance to a glove-finger. Dr. Prior’s explanation is worth quoting, however, if only for its ingenuity. He says: “Its Norwegian names, _Rev-bielde_, Fox-bell, and _Reveleika_, Fox-Music, are the only foreign ones that allude to that animal; and they explain our own, as having been, in the first place, _foxes-glew_, or music (Anglo-Saxon _gliew_), in reference to a favourite instrument of earlier times, a ring of bells hung on an arched support--a tintinnabulum--which this plant, with its hanging bell-shaped flowers, so exactly represents.”----The Foxglove is the special fairy flower: in its spotted bells the “good folk” delight to nestle. It is called in Ireland, Lusmore, or the Great Herb, and also Fairy-cap--a retreat in which the merry little elves are said to hide themselves when a human foot approaches to disturb their dances. The bending of the plant’s tall stalks is believed to denote the presence of supernatural beings, to whom the flower is making its obeisance. In the Irish legend of Knockgrafton, the hero, a poor hunchback, reputed to have a great knowledge of herbs and charms, always wears a sprig of the Fairy-cap, or Lusmore, in his little straw hat, and hence is nicknamed Lusmore. The Shefro, or gregarious fairy, is represented as wearing the corolla of the Foxglove on his head. Browne describes Pan as seeking these flowers as gloves for his mistress:--

“To keep her slender fingers from the sunne,
Pan through the pastures oftentimes hath runne,
To pluck the speckled Foxgloves from their stem,
And on those fingers neatly placed them.”

In Wales, the bells of the Foxglove are termed _Menyg Ellyllon_, or goblins’ gloves. No doubt on account of its connection with the fairies, its name has been fancifully thought to have originally been the Fairy Folks’ Glove. The witches are popularly supposed to have held the Foxglove in high favour, and to have decorated their fingers with its largest bells, thence called “Witches’ Bells.”----Beautiful as it is, the _Digitalis_ is a dangerous plant; no animal will touch it, and it exercises a singular influence over mankind: it impedes the circulation of the blood. We read in ‘Time’s Telescope’ for 1822, that the women of the poorer class in Derbyshire indulged in copious draughts of Foxglove-tea, as a cheap means of obtaining the pleasures of intoxication. It produces a great exhilaration of spirits, and has some singular effects on the system.----Robert Turner tells us that the Foxglove is under Venus, and that, in Hampshire, it is “very well known by the name of Poppers, because if you hold the broad end of the flower close between your finger and thumb, and blow at the small head, as into a bladder, till it be full of wind, and then suddenly strike it with your other hand, it will give a great crack or pop.” The Italians call the plant _Aralda_, and have this proverb concerning it: “_Aralda tutte piaghe salda_”--“Aralda salveth all sores.” Although containing a poison, the Foxglove yields a medicine valuable in cases of heart-disease, inflammatory fevers, dropsy, &c.

“The Foxglove leaves, with caution given,
Another proof of favouring Heaven
Will happily display.”

=FRANGIPANNI.=--The _Plumieria acuminata_, or Frangipanni plant, bears immense clusters of waxy flowers which exhale a most delicious odour: these flowers are white, with a yellow centre, and are flushed with purple behind. The plant is common throughout Malaya, where Mr. Burbidge says it is esteemed by the natives as a suitable decoration for the graves of their friends. Its Malay name, _Bunga orang sudah mati_, is eminently suggestive of the funereal use to which it is put, and means literally “Dead Man’s Flower.”----Frangipanni powder (spices, Orris-roots, and Musk or Civet) was compounded by one of the Roman nobles, named Frangipanni, an alchymist of some repute, who invented a stomachic, which he named Rosolis, _ros-solis_, sun-dew. The Frangipanni tart was the invention of the same noble.

=FRANKINCENSE.=--Leucothea, the daughter of the Persian king Orchamus, attracted the notice of Apollo, who, to woo her, assumed the form and features of her mother. Unable to withstand the god’s “impetuous storm,” Leucothea indulged his love; but Clytia, maddened with jealousy, discovered the intrigue to Orchamus, who, to avenge his stained honour, immured his daughter alive. Apollo, unable to save her from death, sprinkled nectar and ambrosia over her grave, which, penetrating to the lifeless body, changed it into the beautiful tree that bears the Frankincense. Ovid thus describes the nymph’s transformation:--

“What Phœbus could do was by Phœbus done.
Full on her grave with pointed beams he shone.
To pointed beams the gaping earth gave way;
Had the nymph eyes, her eyes had seen the day;
But lifeless now, yet lovely, still she lay.
Not more the god wept when the world was fired,
And in the wreck his blooming boy expired;
The vital flame he strives to light again,
And warm the frozen blood in every vein.
But since resistless fates denied that power,
On the cold nymph he rained a nectar shower.
Ah! undeserving thus, he said, to die,
Yet still in odours thou shalt reach the sky.
The body soon dissolved, and all around
Perfumed with heavenly fragrances the ground.
A sacrifice for gods uprose from thence--
A sweet, delightful tree of Frankincense.”--_Eusden._

The tree which thus sprang from poor Leucothea’s remains was a description of Terebinth, now called _Boswellia thurifera_, which is principally found in Yemen, a part of Arabia. Frankincense is an exudation from this tree, and Pliny tells some marvellous tales respecting its mode of collection, and the difficulties in obtaining it. Frankincense was one of the ingredients with which Moses was instructed to compound the holy incense (Exodus xxx.). The Egyptians made great use of it as a principal ingredient in the perfumes which they so lavishly consumed for religious rites and funeral honours. As an oblation, it was burned on the altars by the priests of Isis, Osiris, and Pasht. At the festivals of Isis an ox was sacrificed filled with Frankincense, Myrrh, and other aromatics. On all the altars erected to the Assyrian gods Baal, Astarte, and Dagon, incense and aromatic gums were burnt in profusion; and we learn from Herodotus that the Arabians alone had to furnish a yearly tribute of one thousand talents of Frankincense.---Ovid recommends Frankincense as an excellent cosmetic, and says that if it is agreeable to gods, it is no less useful to mortals.----Rapin writes that “Phrygian Frankincense is held divine.”

“In sacred services alone consumed,
And every Temple’s with the smoke perfumed.”

Dr. Birdwood states that there are many varieties of the Frankincense-tree, yielding different qualities of the “lubân” or milky gum which, from time immemorial, has sent up the smoke of sacrifice from high places.----Distinct records have been found of the traffic carried on between Egypt and Arabia in the seventeenth century B.C. In the paintings at Dayr al Báhri, in Upper Egypt, are representations both of bags of Olibanum and of Olibanum-trees in tubs, being conveyed by ships from Arabia to Egypt; and among the inscriptions deciphered by Professor Dümichen are many describing shipments of precious woods, incense, and “verdant incense trees brought among the precious things from the land of Arabia for the majesty of their god Ammon, the lord of the terrestrial thrones.”----The Philistines reverently burnt Frankincense before the fish-god Dagon. In ancient days it was accepted as tribute. Darius, for instance, received from the Arabians an annual tribute of one thousand talents of Frankincense.----When the Magi, or wise men of the East, following the guidance of the miraculous star, reached Bethlehem and paid their homage to the infant Saviour, they made an offering of gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh, by which symbolical oblation they acknowledged Him as King (gold), God (incense), and Man (Myrrh).----The Roman Catholic and Greek churches, especially the churches of South America, consume an immense quantity of Olibanum, as do the Chinese in their joss-houses.

=FRAXINELLA.=--The Fraxinella (_Dictamnus_) is deemed a most sacred plant by the fire-worshippers of India, and is highly reverenced by them on account of its singular powers of luminosity. The plant is covered with minute glands which excrete volatile oil: this is continually evaporating from its surface, and forms a highly inflammable atmosphere round the plant. If a light be brought near it, the plant is enveloped by a transient flame, but without sustaining any injury. When gently rubbed, the plant emits a delicious scent, like lemon-peel.

FRIAR’S CAP.--See Monkshood.

=FRITILLARY.=--The origin of the _Fritillaria_, or Crown Imperial, is given by Rapin in the following lines:--

“Then her gay gilded front th’ Imperial Crown
Erects aloft, and with a scornful frown
O’erlooks the subject plants, while humbly they
Wait round, and homage to her highness pay;
High on the summit of her stem arise
Leaves in a verdant tuft of largest size;
Below this tuft the gilded blossoms bent,
Like golden cups reversed, are downwards sent;
But in one view collected they compose
A crown-like form, from whence her name arose.
No flower aspires in pomp and state more high,
Nor, could her odour with her beauty vie,
Would lay a juster claim to majesty.
A _Queen_ she was whom ill report belied,
And a rash husband’s jealousy destroyed;
Driv’n from his bed and court the fields she ranged,
Till spent with grief was to a blossom changed,
Yet only changed as to her human frame:
She kept th’ Imperial beauty and the name;
But the report destroyed her former sweets:
Scandal, though false, the fair thus rudely treats,
And always the most fair with most injustice meets.”

This flower is a native of Persia, and was for some time known as _Lilium Persicum_. According to Madame de Genlis, it derived its majestic name of Crown Imperial from the celebrated _Guirlande de Julie_. The Duke de Montausier, on New Year’s Day, 1634, presented his bride, Julie de Rambouillet, with a magnificent album, on the vellum leaves of which were painted a series of flowers, with appropriate verses. The principal poem was by Chapelain, who chose this Persian Lily as his theme, and, knowing the bride to be a great admirer of Gustavus Adolphus, represented in his verses that the flower sprang from the life-blood of the Swedish King when he fell mortally wounded on the field of Lützen; adding that had this hero gained the imperial crown, he would have offered it with his hand to Julie, but as the Fates had metamorphosed him into this flower, it was presented to her under the name of _La Couronne Impériale_. In later days the flower received the name of _Fritillaria_ (from _Fritillus_, a dice box, the usual companion of the chequer-board), because its blossoms are chequered with purple and white or yellow.

=FUMITORY.=--This plant, which Shakspeare alludes to as Fumiter, derived its name from the French _Fume-terre_, and Latin _Fumus terræ_, earth-smoke. It was so named from a belief, very generally held in olden times, that it was produced without seed from smoke or vapour rising from the earth. Pliny (who calls it _Fumaria_) states that the plant took its name from causing the eyes to water when applied to them, as smoke does; but another opinion is that it was so called because a bed of the common kind, when in flower, appears at a distance like a dense smoke. Rapin has these lines on the plant:--

“With the first Spring the soft Fumaria shows
On stern Bavaria’s rocks her sev’ral hues;
But by report is struck by certain fate,
When dreadful thunders echo from their height;
And with the lightning’s sulph’rous fumes opprest,
Her drooping beauties languish on her breast.”

Dioscorides says that the juice dropped into the eyes clears the sight, and also that the juice, having a little gum Arabic dissolved therein, and applied to the eyelids when the hairs have been pulled out, will keep them from growing again.----According to astrologers, Fumitory is a herb of Saturn.

=GANG FLOWER.=--The Milk-wort, _Flos Ambarvalis_, Cross-, Procession-, Gang-, or Rogation-Flower (_Polygala vulgaris_), was so called from its blossoming in Gang-week or Rogation-week, when processions were made in imitation of the ancient Roman Ambarvalia (see CORN), to perambulate the parishes with the Holy Cross and Litanies, to mark boundaries, and to invoke God’s blessing upon the crops; upon which occasions Gerarde tells us “the maidens which use in the countries to walke the procession do make themselves garlands and nosegaies” of the Milk-wort, which the old herbalist likewise informs us is so called on account of its “vertues in procuring milke in the breasts of nurses.”

=GARLIC.=--The tapering-leaved Garlic (_Allium sativum_) derives its name from two Anglo-Saxon words, meaning the Spear-plant. The Egyptians so appreciated Garlic, that they were accustomed to swear by it, and even to worship it. Referring to this, Juvenal satirically remarks: “Each clove of Garlic hath a sacred flower.” Nevertheless, no Egyptian priest was permitted to eat Garlic. The Israelites, who had learnt in Egypt to prize this vegetable, murmured at being deprived of its use, and expressed their preference of it to Manna itself.----In Asia Minor, Greece, Scandinavia, and Northern Germany, Garlic is popularly believed to possess magical properties of a beneficent nature. According to the ‘Lay of Sigurdrîfa,’ protection from witchcraft may be ensured by the addition of Garlic to a beverage. The Sanscrit name for Garlic means the Slayer of Monsters. Galen relates that it was considered inimical to all cold poisons, and to the bites of venomous beasts. Macer Floridus affirms that the eating of Garlic fasting ensured immunity from all ills attending change of climate or the drinking of unknown water. The roots, hung round the necks of blind cattle, were supposed to induce restoration of sight. Clusius relates that the German miners found the roots very powerful in defending them from the assaults of impure spirits which frequented mines.----In England, Garlic obtained the name of Poor Man’s Treacle, or Triacle, from its being considered an antidote to animal poison. Bacon tells us that, applied to the wrists, and renewed, Garlic was considered a cure for long agues: in Kent, and probably in other counties, it is placed in the stockings of a child with the whooping-cough, in order to allay the complaint.----De Gubernatis states that the Bolognese regard Garlic as the symbol of abundance; at the festival of St. John, everyone buys it, to preserve themselves from poverty during the year. In Sicily, they put Garlic on the beds of women during confinement, and they make three signs of the cross with it to charm away polypus. In Cuba, thirteen cloves of Garlic at the end of a cord worn round the neck for thirteen days, is considered to safeguard the wearer against the jaundice, provided that, in the middle of the night of the thirteenth day, he proceeds to the corner of two streets, takes off his Garlic necklet, and, flinging it over his head, runs instantly home without turning round to see what has become of it.----The broad-leaved Garlic was formerly called Buckrams, Bear’s Garlic, Ramsies, and Ramsins, the last name being referred to in the proverb--

“Eat Leekes in Lide, and Ramsins in May,
And all the year after physitians may play.”

We read that if a man dream of eating Garlic, it signifies that he will discover hidden secrets, and meet with some domestic jar; yet to dream he has it in the house is lucky.----Garlic is under the dominion of Mars.

GEAN.--See Cherry.

=GENTIAN.=--The Gentian (_Gentiana_) was so called after Gentius, King of Illyria, who first discovered the medicinal virtues of this bitter plant. Gentius having imprisoned the ambassadors sent to his court by the Romans, they invaded his kingdom, conquered it, and led the royal botanist and his family in triumph through the streets of Rome. The old name of this flower was _Gentiana cruciata_, and it was also called _S. Ladislai Regis herba_, in regard to which latter appellation, there is a curious legend:--During the reign of King Ladislas, the whole of Hungary was afflicted with the plague. Compassionating his unfortunate subjects who were dying by thousands, the pious king prayed that if he shot an arrow into the air, the Almighty would vouchsafe to guide it to the root of some herb that might be employed efficaciously in arresting the terrible plague. The king discharged an arrow, and, in falling, it cleft the root of the _Cruciata_ (Gentian), which was at once tried, and found to possess the most astonishing curative powers when administered to sufferers from the plague.----According to old Robert Turner, the herbalist, Gentian, or Felwort, “resists poisons, putrefaction, and the pestilence, and helps digestion; the powder of the dry roots helps bitings of mad dogs and venomous beasts, opens the liver, and procures an appetite. Wine, wherein the herb hath been steept, being drunk, refreshes such as are over-wearied by travel, or are lame in their joynts by cold or bad lodgings.” Gerarde states that it is put into counterpoisons, “as into the composition named _Theriaca diatessaron_, which Ætius calleth _Mysterium_, a mystery, or hid secret.” Formerly the names of Baldmoney and Baldmoyne were applied to the Felwort or Gentian. (See BALDMONEY and FELDWODE.)----Gentian is under the dominion of Mars.

GERANIUM.--See Crane’s Bill.

GILL.--See Ivy.

=GILLIFLOWER.=--The appellation of Gilliflower has been applied, apparently as a kind of pet name, to all manner of plants. Formerly the word was spelt _gyllofer_ and _gilofre_, from the French _giroflée_ and Italian _garofalo_, words derived from the Latin _Caryophyllum_ and Greek _Karuophullon_, a Clove, in allusion to the flower’s spicy odour. The name was originally given by the Italians to the Carnation and plants of the Pink tribe, and was so used by Chaucer, Spenser, and Shakspeare. Afterwards both writers and gardeners bestowed the name on the _Matthiola_ and _Cheiranthus_. At the present time the word has almost fallen out of use, but in books will be found to be applied to the Clove Gilliflower, _Dianthus Caryophyllus_ (the true Gilliflower); the Marsh Gilliflower, or Ragged Robin (_Lychnis flos cuculi_); Queen’s, Rogue’s, or Winter Gilliflower, the Dame’s Violet (_Hesperis matronalis_); Stock Gilliflower (_Matthiola incana_); Wall Gilliflower (_Cheiranthus Cheiri_); and Water Gilliflower (_Hottonia palustris_).----The Gilliflower is in old songs represented as one of the flowers thought to grow in Paradise. Thus, in a ballad called ‘Dead Men’s Songs,’ occurs the following verse:--

“The fields about the city faire
Were all with Roses set,
Gillyflowers and Carnations faire
Which canker could not fret.”

(See also CARNATION).

=GINSENG.=--The Chinese consider the far-famed Ginseng (_Panax quinquefolia_) the most valuable production of nature. It is their specific for all disorders of the lungs or of the stomach, curing asthma, strengthening the eyesight, renewing a worn-out constitution, delaying the approach of old age, and acting as a counterpoison. The Dutch naturalists thus described the Ginseng:--“Its name is taken from its shape, because its represents a man (in Chinese _Gin_) striding with his legs. It is a larger and stronger species of our Mandrake. The dried root is of a yellow colour, streaked round with blackish veins, as if drawn with ink. It yields when chewed an unpleasant sweetness, mixed with bitterness. The Chinese will give three pounds of gold for one pound of it.” To the Chinese this shrub is in some measure a foreign production, as it is found only in Manchoo Tartary; but it does not owe all its reputation to its distant origin; the Tartars also prize it, and give it a name (_Orhota_) expressive of its quality as the chief of plants. They endeavour to procure it at the risk of losing their lives or liberty, equally endangered by the nature of the country where it is found, and by the policy of the Chinese Government, which endeavours to monopolise this much-esteemed production. A large extent of country to the north-east of Pekin, covered with inaccessible mountains, and almost impassable forests infested with wild beasts, and affording no means of subsistence, is separated from the province of Leao Tong by a strong barrier of stakes, always carefully protected by guards of Chinese soldiers who seize and punish unlicensed intruders: this is the native country of Ginseng, and these precautions are considered necessary to preserve the valued plant from depredation. The Père Jartoux, who was employed in the survey of Tartary by order of the Emperor Kam-he, describes the mode of gathering the Ginseng, as it was practised at that time. He had frequently met with the party of Tartars employed on the service, but on this occasion ten thousand Tartars were commanded to gather all the Ginseng that could be found; and after deducting two ounces from the quantity gathered by each man, they were allowed for the remainder its weight in pure silver. This army of botanists divided themselves into companies of a hundred men, with a chief to each company. The whole territory was then apportioned to the several divisions; each division formed a line, and, slowly advancing, traversed that portion of country allotted to it; nearly six months were spent in the occupation, and the whole territory was thus searched through. Of the Ginseng thus collected the root is the only part preserved.

=GLADIOLUS.=--The Corn-flag, or Sword-flag (_Gladiolus_), has been thought by some to be the flower alluded to by Ovid as the blossom which sprang from the blood of Hyacinthus when he was accidentally slain by Apollo with a quoit--the flower which bears displayed upon its petals the sad impression of the Sun-god’s sighs-_Ai, Ai!_ (See HYACINTH). The upper root of the Sword-flag was supposed by the old herbalists to provoke amatory passions, whilst the lower root was thought to cause barrenness.----The Gladiolus is a plant of the Moon.

=GLASTONBURY THORN.=--In Loudon’s _Arboretum Britannicum_, the Glastonbury Thorn is mentioned as the _Cratægus Oxyacantha præcox_. This variety of the Hawthorn blossoms during the Winter, and was for many years believed religiously to blow on Christmas-day. The Abbey of Glastonbury, in Somersetshire, which is now a ruin, and of whose origin only vague memorials exist, was said by the monks to have been the residence of Joseph of Arimathea. The high ground on which the old abbey was erected used in early days to be called the Isle of Avalon. The Thorn-tree stood on an eminence to the south-west of the town of Glastonbury, where a nunnery, dedicated to St. Peter, was in after times erected. The eminence is called Weary-all Hill; and the same monkish legend which accounts for the name of the hill, states also the origin of the Thorn. It seems that when Joseph of Arimathea, to whom the original conversion of this country is attributed, arrived at this spot with his companions, they were weary with their journey, and sat down. St. Joseph then stuck his stick in the ground, when, although it was a dry Hawthorn staff, it took root and grew, and thenceforth commemorated the birth of Christ in the manner above mentioned. This rendered its blossoms of so much value in all Christian nations, that the Bristol merchants exported them as things of price to foreign lands. It had two trunks or bodies until the time of Queen Elizabeth, when a Puritan cut down one of them, but left the other, which was about the size of an ordinary man. This desecration of the tree brought condign punishment upon the over-zealous Puritan, for, according to James Howell, a writer of the period, “some of the prickles flew into his eye, and made him monocular.” The reputation which the Glastonbury Thorn still retained, notwithstanding the change of religion, may be estimated by the fact that King James and his Queen, and other persons of distinction, gave large sums for small cuttings from the original tree. Until the time of Charles I., it was customary to carry a branch of the Thorn in procession at Christmas time; but during the civil war, in that reign, what remained of the tree was cut down; plants from its branches are, however, still in existence, for a vintner of the place secured a slip, and planted it in his garden, where it duly flowered on the 25th December. When the new style was introduced in 1752, the alteration (which consisted of omitting eleven days) seems to have been very generally disliked by the mass of the people. The use which was made of the Glastonbury Thorn to prove the impropriety of the change is not a little curious. The alteration in the Christmas Day, which was held that year and since on a day which would have been January 5th, was particularly obnoxious, not only as disturbing old associations, but as making an arbitrary change from what was considered the true anniversary of the birth of Christ. In several places, where real or supposed slips from the Glastonbury Thorn existed, the testimony of the plant against the change was anxiously sought on the first Christmas Day under the new style. As the special distinction of the Thorn arose from its supposed connection with the great event commemorated on that day, it was argued that it must indicate the true anniversary, and that its evidence would be conclusive on the subject. The event of one of these references (at Quainton, in Buckinghamshire) is thus recorded in the ‘Gentleman’s Magazine’ for 1753:--“Above 2000 people came here this night (December 24th, 1752, N.S., being the first Christmas Eve under the new calendar), with lanthorns and candles, to view a Thorn-tree which grows in this neighbourhood, and which was remembered (this year only) to be a slip from the Glastonbury Thorn; that it always budded on the 24th, was full-blown the next day, and went off at night. But the people, finding no appearance of a bud, it was agreed that December 25th n.s. could not be the right Christmas Day, and accordingly they refused going to Church, or treating their friends as usual. At length the affair became so serious, that the ministers of the neighbouring villages, in order to appease the people, thought it prudent to give notice that the old Christmas Day should be kept holy as usual.” The slips of the Thorn seem to have been everywhere unanimous in this opposition to the new style. There still exist at Glastonbury, within the precincts of the ruins of the Abbey, two distinct trees, which, doubtless, sprang from the Thorn of Joseph of Arimathea, and which continue to blossom during the winter months.

=GLOBE FLOWER.=--The botanical name of the Globe Flower, _Trollius Europæus_, is supposed to be of Scandinavian origin, and to signify a magic flower. The plant is also called Globe Ranunculus and Globe Crow-foot, from the globular form of its calyx. The flower was formerly known as the Troll-flower, and in Scotland as the Luckan Gowan (Cabbage Daisy). Its name of Troll was probably derived from the Swedish word _troll_, a malignant supernatural being,--a name corresponding to the Scotch Witches’ Gowan, and given to the _Trollius_ on account of its acrid poisonous qualities. It is a common flower on the Alps, and has been employed from time immemorial by the Swiss peasantry to make garlands of on rural festive celebrations. In the northern counties of England, at the beginning of June, the Globe-flower is sought with great festivity by the young people, who adorn their doors and cottages with wreaths and garlands composed of its blossoms.

=GOAT’S BEARD.=--The yellow Goat’s Beard (_Tragopogon pratensis_) is one of the best floral indices of the hour of the day, for it opens at sunrise and closes at noon.

“And goodly now the noon-tide hour,
When from his high meridian tower
The sun looks down in majesty,
What time about the grassy lea
The Goat’s Beard, prompt his rise to hail
With broad expanded disk, in veil
Close mantling wraps its yellow head,
And goes, as peasants say, to bed.”--_Bp. Mant._

Other names of this plant are Noon-day Flower, Go-to-bed-at-noon, Star of Jerusalem, and Joseph’s Flower. No satisfactory explanation has ever been given with respect to the last two names, nor is it known whether the Joseph referred to is the son of Jacob, the Virgin Mary’s husband, or Joseph of Arimathea.

=GOLDEN ROD.=--The tall straight-stemmed Golden Rod (_Solidago virga aurea_) was formerly called Wound-weed, and on account of its healing powers received its scientific name _solidago_, from “_in solidum ago vulnera_,” “I consolidate wounds.” It was brought from abroad in a dried state, and sold in the London markets by the herb-women of Queen Elizabeth’s days, and Gerarde tells us that it fetched half-a-crown an ounce. About that time, however, it was found in Hampstead ponds, and when it was seen to be a native plant, it became valueless and was discarded from use; which, says Gerarde, “plainely setteth forth our inconstancie and sudden mutabilitie, esteeming no longer of anything, how pretious soever it be, than whilest it is strange and rare. This verifieth our English proverbe, ‘Far fetcht and deare bought is best for ladies.’”----According to tradition, the Golden Rod is also a divining-rod, and points to hidden springs of water as well as to treasures of gold and silver.----Astrologers say that Golden Rod is a plant of Venus.

GOLD CUP and GOLD KNOBS.--See Ranunculus.

GOLD, GOLDING, and GOWAN.--See Marigold.

=GOLDILOCKS.=--This name is applied to _Ranunculus auricomus_, _Chrysocoma Linosyris_, _Amaranthus luteus_ (Golden Flower Gentle), and, by Gerarde, to _Muscus capillaris_ (Golden Maidenhair Moss). _Camelina sativa_ is the Gold of Pleasure.

=GOLUBETZ.=--There is a popular belief in Russia, that anyone drinking a draught of water in which this plant of the marshes has been steeped, will be exempt from attacks by bears.

=GOOD HENRY.=--The Allgood, English Mercury, Good Henry, or Good King Harry (_Chenopodium Bonus Henricus_) seems to have been given its name of Good Henry to distinguish it from a poisonous plant called _Malus Henricus_. Grimm explains that the name Henry has reference in this case to elves and kobolds, which were called Heinz and Heinrich.

=GOOL-ACHIN.=--The _Plumeria acutifolia_, a tree of American origin, is called by the Hindus Gool-achin, and is esteemed sacred by them. It is commonly planted in Indian gardens, and particularly in cemeteries, because it keeps the graves of the departed white with its daily fall of fragrant flowers. The branches are stout, and, when wounded, exude a milky juice, which is prized.

=GOOSEBERRY.=--The homely Gooseberry, which derives its name from the Anglo-Saxon _crós_, a curl (German _kraus_, and old Dutch _kroes_), is an old inhabitant of England, for Tusser, who lived in the reign of Henry VIII., wrote of it--

“The Barberry, Respis, and Gooseberry, too,
Look now to be planted as other things do.”

It was formerly called Feaberry, Dewberry and Wineberry.----An old-fashioned remedy for a wart consisted in pricking it with a sharp Gooseberry-thorn passed through a wedding-ring.----To dream of ripe Gooseberries is considered as a favourable omen. It predicts a fortune, a lucrative post under Government, great fidelity in your sweetheart, sweetness of temper and disposition, many children (chiefly sons), and the accomplishment of your aims. To the sailor, to dream of Gooseberries, indicates dangers in his next voyage; to the maiden, a roving husband.----The Gooseberry is placed by astrologers under the rule of Venus.

=GRAPES.=--The product of the Vine was the especial fruit of the god Bacchus, who is sometimes represented like an infant, holding a thyrsus and clusters of grapes with a horn. In the Catholic Church, Grapes and Corn are symbolic of the Blessed Eucharist. According to Brocard, the finest Grapes are those grown in the vales of Eshcol and Sorek. The word _sorek_ signifies “fine Grapes.” Clusters of Grapes have been found in Syria, weighing as much as forty pounds, worthy successors of the cluster taken by the Israelitish spies from Eshcol, which “they bare between two upon a staff.”----In some countries, the Grape is believed to have been the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden.----To dream of Grapes foretells to the maiden that her husband will be cheerful, and a great songster. If the dreamer be in love, they augur a speedy union, and denote much happiness in marriage and success in trade. According to another authority, to dream that you see clusters of Grapes hanging round about you predicts future advancement and honour. To the maid it implies marriage with an ambitious man, who will arrive at great preferment, but die early.

=GORSE.=--The Whin Gorse, or Furze (_Ulex_)--“the never-bloomless Furze”--caused Dillenius the greatest delight, and is said to have so affected Linnæus, when he first came to England and saw a common covered with its golden blossoms, that he fell down on his knees in a rapture at the sight, and thanked God for its loveliness. He attempted in vain to introduce it into Sweden; but although hardy enough in England, yet it would not grow even in the garden in which Linnæus planted it.----The old English names for this shrub were Fursbush, Furrs, Whins, and Goss.----Gorse is held to be under the dominion of Mars.

=GORY-DEW.=--A minute Alga bears the name of Gory-dew from its resemblance to blood-drops. During the Middle Ages, it caused much dismay by appearing like a sudden shower of blood, and it was thought to portend battle, murder, and sudden death.

=GRASS.=--In India, several kinds of Grass, such as the _Kusa_, a species of _Andropogon_, and _Eragrostis_, are held sacred by the Hindus, and employed in their temples.----In Prussia, the northern Holy Grass (_Holcus odoratus_) is used for strewing the floors of churches at Whitsuntide. In some parts of Germany, Holy Grass (_Hierochloe borealis_) is strewn before church doors on holidays.----Wheat would appear to be only the cultivated form of the _Ægilops_, a Grass infesting Barley-fields on the shores of the Mediterranean. Grip-grass (_Galium Aparine_) is so called from its gripping or seizing with its hooked prickles whatever comes in its way. The _Potentilla reptans_ is called Five-Finger Grass, on account of its five leaflets. The only poisonous Grass (Darnel) is supposed to be the Tares of the Scriptures: Linnæus says of this Grass (_Lolium temulentum_) that if the seeds are baked in bread it is very hurtful, and if malted with Barley it produces giddinness.----In Norfolk, coarse marshy Grass is called Hassock, hence the application of this name to church hassocks, which are often made of a large Sedge, the _Carex paniculata_.----In connection with Tussack-grass (_Aira cæspitosa_), Mr. Sikes relates the following tradition current in Wales:--The son of a farmer at Drws Coed was permitted to marry a fairy-wife on condition that she should never be touched by iron. They had several children, and lived happily enough until one unfortunate day her horse sank in the deep mire, and as her husband was helping her to remount, his stirrup struck her knee. At once sweet singing was heard on the hill top, and she was parted from him; but, though no longer allowed to walk the earth with man, she used to haunt the turf lake (Llyn y dywarchen). This lake has moving islands of Tussack-grass, like Derwentwater, so on one of these islands she used to stand for hours and hold converse with her bereaved husband.----“Fairy Rings” is the popular name for the circles of dark-green Grass occasionally seen on grassy downs and old pastures, round which, according to popular belief, the

“Elfe-queen, with her jolly compagnie,
Danced full oft in many a grene mede.”

On this dark Grass rustic superstition avers that no sheep or lamb will browse. Disregarding the poetical charm which lingers around the fairy superstition, and oblivious of the poet’s asseveration that--

“Of old the merry elves were seen
Pacing with printless feet the dewy green,”

some naturalists have ascribed the phenomenon of these rings to lightning; others to the work of ants; and others, again, to the growth of a small esculent Fungus called _Agaricus Orcades_. However, Edmund Jones, a celebrated preacher, of Monmouth, who in 1813 wrote a book on apparitions, declares that in St. Matthew xii., 43, is to be found an authority for the popular belief. He says, “The fairy rings are found in dry places, and the Scripture saith that the walk of evil spirits is in dry places.”----In Sussex, elves and fairies are sometimes called “Pharisees” by the country folk, and in Tarberry Hill, on Harting, are Pharisees’ rings, where the simple people say the Pharisees dance on Midsummer Eve.----To dream of Grass is a good omen; if the Grass be fresh and green, the dream portends long life, good luck, and great wealth; but if withered and decayed, misfortunes and sickness may be expected, if not the death of loved ones. To dream of cutting Grass betokens great troubles.

=GROUNDHEELE.=--This plant, known in Germany as _Grundheil_, and in France as _Herbe aux Ladres_, is identified by Doctor Prior with _Veronica officinalis_, which he says was so called from its having cured a king of France of a leprosy, from which he had suffered some eight years--a disease, called in Germany, _grind_. Quoting from Brunschwygk, our author tells us that a shepherd had seen a stag, whose hind quarter was covered with a scabby eruption from the bite of a wolf, cure itself by eating of this plant, and rolling itself upon it; and that thereupon he recommended the king to try it.

GROUND-IVY.--See Ivy.