Chapter XXIX: Names and Superstitions

Giving names the first amusement--Curious and
odd names--A spiteful naturalist--The melancholy
Bartzia--Common names--British orchids--Dancing girls
and columbines--Susans--Biblical names--Almond, apple,
locust--Spikenard--Tares--Effects of darnel--Daffodil--Acanthus
leaf--Ghost-disturbing branches--Elder or bour tree--Its powers
and medicinal advantage--Danewort--Mandrake--How to pull it
up--The insane root--Its properties--Plants which make bones
pink--The betel nut--Henna--Egyptian and Persian uses--Castor
oil--Leeks, onions, and garlic--Ancient use of them.

Man has always taken a certain pleasure in giving names to both plants and animals. It was, of course, a necessity to do this, but it is probable that people enjoyed the process as they do now.

At the present moment there must be at least 200,000 plants named and described by botanists. So that the number of ecstatic moments enjoyed by humanity has been undoubtedly increased.

The Egyptians, the Babylonians, and the Arabs named a great many plants, but for the most part those names are quite lost. Most of the knowledge of the Egyptians and Babylonians remained a close secret confined to their priestly colleges or universities, and has entirely perished.

For centuries those fragments of the knowledge of Greece and Egypt which were preserved seem to have been translated and taught in Latin. Long after the Roman Empire had passed away, all knowledge, including that of medicine, of botany, and of law, was imparted in Latin, which indeed was supposed to be learnt by every educated person almost until the present century.

Even now descriptions of new plants have to be given in Latin, and the name must have a classical appearance. Of course, nowadays, it would be much more convenient and much more generally useful if every person learnt English, German, French, and Japanese, but in this case of naming plants, the Holy Roman Empire still exercises its sway over the whole world.

Very often the names given to plants are of the most extraordinary character. The Latin is curious and the Greek remarkable, yet sometimes they are both pleasant to the ear and have a pretty and poetical meaning.

_Poggeophyton_, on the other hand, for example, means the plant discovered by Dr. Pogge, a German botanical explorer. _Wormskioldia_, _Zahlbrucknera_, _Krascheninikowia_, _Acanthosicyos_, _Chickrassia_, _Orychophragmus_, _Warczewiczia_, _Lychnophoriopsis_, _Krombholtzia_, _Pseudorhachicallis_, _Sczegleewia_, _Zschokkia_, are all names that sound harsh and look odd to us. Yet most of them are just called after those who discovered them, or their friends. In many of the smaller microscopic plants the names are really much longer than the plants themselves. Thus _Pseudocerataulus Kinkeri_ is a diatom which cannot possibly be seen without the use of a microscope.

Names are and were given in the most extraordinary way. Not merely great botanists, but Themistocles, Aristides, Aristobulus, Virgil, and even Gyas and Clianthes, have plants named after them.

Yet that is not inexcusable, if people had not sufficient inventive power to do better. There was a naturalist who quarrelled with the great French scientist Buffon. Therefore he baptized as _Buffonia_ a group of ugly, unimportant little plants which had an unpleasant smell. In other cases people have named plants after their sweethearts or friends.

A British plant called Bartzia has a rather melancholy, desolate appearance. It was named when the author had just received the news of the death of his friend Dr. Bartsch.

One of the most usual complaints which one hears from those who are beginning to study flowers is that the Latin names are so difficult and hard to remember. But they are not really more difficult than the common popular names, and especially those of foreign plants. Cheirostemon, for instance, which means stamens like a hand, is much easier to speak and to remember than _Macpalxochitlquahuitl_, which is its soft, meandering, Spanish-American name. Asperula (little rough one) is quite as good as Squinancywort, which means a herb good for quinsy (it is moreover of no good in quinsy). Perhaps, however, Woodruff (which is really "wood rowel," from the resemblance of the leaves to an old-fashioned spur), or Waldmeister (master of the woods), are as good names as Asperula. Then Erigeron, which means "soon growing old," is an excellent description of the faded appearance of this little weed, for which the popular name is Fleabane (it has no effect upon these creatures whatsoever).

How popular names came to be associated with particular flowers is generally quite unknown. A fair number are called from the diseases which they are supposed to cure. Lungwort, however, was so called because the lichen Pulmonaria has a resemblance to lungs. Then in course of time people began to suppose it was a cure for diseases of the lungs, which it is not.

The British Orchids are called Bee, Spider, Fly, and Hanging-man Orchids, because of a fancied resemblance to their namesakes. Dancing-girls (_Mantisia_) was so called from a certain resemblance of the flower to a columbine. The true Columbine (_Aquilegia_) was so called because of a resemblance which some one saw to a circle of little doves with wings seated on a circular well.

The greatest objection to popular names, however, lies in their being so indefinite. Entirely different plants are known by the same name, and also in different parts of the country totally different names are given to the same plant. All such difficulties disappear if one takes the trouble to learn the Latin names.

These also are often quite pretty. Luzula, Veronica (with its pretty legend), Mimulus (the little monkey), Circæa (Enchanter's Nightshade), Senecio (_the old man_, from its woolly head of fruits), Nymphea, Naias, Carlina (_the old witch_), and so on, are quite as pretty and as nice as Mugwort, Devil-in-a-bush, Hairy Rock Cress, and the rest. One curious result of the use of popular names is seen in the Biblical names of plants. The Rose of Sharon seems most probably to have been _Narcissus Tarzetta_, and not a rose at all. As regards the lilies of the Field, Mr. Ridley has the following remarks. The Hebrew word _Shushan_ was a generic name given to a mixture of flowers, exactly as we now talk of ferns, herbs, or grass. The Sermon on the Mount was preached near the plain of Gennesaret, and there flourish the Anemone (_Anemone coronaria_), _Ranunculus asiaticus_, and _Adonis aestivalis_ and _flammea_, which are exactly of the same colour and follow each other in close succession. This word _Shushan_ is the original of the Christian name Susannah or Susan. The Arabic name for _Anemone coronaria_ is Susan.

The Almond of the Bible is the common almond which is wild in Syria and Palestine. "Aaron's rod that budded was a branch of an almond tree; the bowls of the Golden Candlestick were designed from the almond blossom. Even at the present time English workmen call the glass drops for ornamenting candlesticks almonds." The Apple of the Bible was more probably an Apricot. The husks of the prodigal son were probably the Locust-beans, sometimes called St. John's bread, but it is quite probable that the "locusts" eaten by St. John were the insects. At any rate, locusts are regularly eaten in the East. The Locust Tree (_Ceratonia siliqua_), or Algaroba or Carob, has large, dark-purple pods; there is a pulpy material between the seeds which forms a valuable cattle food. The seeds are said to have been the original "carat" weight of jewellers.

The Spikenard (_Nardostachys jatamansi_) belongs to the natural order _Valerianaceæ_. It is a wild plant of Bhutan found near Rangasnati, in India, and in ancient times it was transported on camels by the regular caravan route to Syria, Greece, and Rome. It was then worth about £3. 10s. per lb. The essence is obtained from the roots, but one hundred pounds of roots will furnish only half a pound of essence. Now it has but little value.[153]

[153] Heuzé, _Les Plantes Industrielles_.

The Tares sown amongst the wheat were probably the seed of the Darnel. When growing, this grass is very like wheat, and it would be quite possible to mistake one for the other until the flowers and fruit are formed. Darnel is one of the very few poisonous grasses. It is said that the poison is produced by a fungus which is found in the grain. When darnel seed is ground up with wheat the bread becomes dangerous, for the poison produces severe headache, vertigo, and giddiness. Other authorities say that it causes in man and rabbits eruptions, fits of trembling, and confusion of sight. It seems not to affect horned cattle, swine, and ducks.

As regards those plants which were specially beloved and venerated by the Greeks, there is not very much to say. Moly seems to have been _Allium moly_, one of the onion or garlic family. It is not very remarkable in any way. Amaranth was apparently the garden Love-lies-bleeding, called in France Queue-de-Renard and Discipline-de-Religieuse. The Asphodel which covered the Elysian fields seems to be _Asphodelus ramosus_.[154] This grows in quantities in Apulia, and is said to afford good nourishment for sheep.

[154] Figured in Kerner's _Natural History of Plants_.

The Myrtle, with which the Athenian magistrates and victors in the Olympic games were crowned, is not really a European plant, though it has a wide range from Asia Minor to Afghanistan. It was sacred to Venus, and had some importance as a medicinal plant and for perfumes. It was even used in cookery and for making myrtle wine, which last is said to be still prepared in some parts of Tuscany.

"Narcissus, son of the river Cephisus and of Liriope, daughter of the Ocean, was a young man of great beauty who scorned all the Nymphs of the country, and made to die of languor Echo, because he would not respond to her passion. But one day returning from the chase weary and fatigued, he stopped at the side of a fountain to refresh himself. There having seen his own face in the water, he was so smitten with it and so greatly loved himself that he died of grief. The Gods, touched by his death, changed him into a Daffodil, according to the fable."

Such is the account in M. l'Abbé Ladvocat's _Dictionnaire Historique-Portatif_, Paris, 1760. Daffodil means appearing early in the year. The number of races, varieties, and forms of Daffodil, Jonquil, etc., has become innumerable; yet it is doubtful if any are quite so graceful and absolutely charming as the _Narcissus poeticus_, supposed to be the original of the above legend.

The Acanthus leaf which was so much used in sculpture seems to have been that of _Acanthus spinosus_. It can still be traced in modern carving, though, of course, it is very much altered and in a rather degenerate form.

It is often very difficult to say why certain plants have received so much attention and veneration in ancient times. In some cases it is clearly because they are poisonous, and therefore become dreadful and awe-inspiring. Why, however, should a twig of Rowan (_Pyrus Aucuparia_) be so often placed above the door of a Highland cottage? In some way it was supposed to keep off evil spirits, but there is no special reason why it should have been chosen.

The "Bour Tree" or Elder (_Sambucus_) has been the centre of a whole series of extraordinary and remarkable superstitions. Of the Ellhorn (Low Saxon), or _Sambucus nigra_, Arnkiel gives the following account: "Our forefathers also held the Ellhorn holy, wherefore whosoever need to hew it down must first make his request, 'Lady Ellhorn, give me some of thy wood, and I will give thee some of mine when it grows in the forest'--the which, with bended knees, bare head, and folded arms, was ordinarily done."

The flowers are an eye-wash and cosmetic, or they may be taken as tea or used as a fomentation. The berries are used for "elderberry wine."

A certain cure for rheumatism is to carry about a small piece of elder cut after the fashion of a rude cross.

Evelyn speaking of it says: "If the medicinal properties of the leaves, bark, berries, etc., were thoroughly known, I cannot tell what our countrymen could ail for which he might not fetch a remedy from every hedge, either for sickness or wound."

The other species (_Sambucus ebulus_, or Danewort) has had its name explained as follows by Sir J. E. Smith: "Our ancestors evinced a just hatred of their brutal enemies the Danes in supposing the nauseous, fetid, and noxious plant before us to have sprung from their blood."

Of all these, however, the Mandrake (_Mandragora_) is connected with the most extraordinary and remarkable superstitions. The plant is distinctly poisonous, and has peculiar divided roots which sometimes have a very rough resemblance to the human body. It was supposed to be alive, and to utter the most piercing shrieks when it was pulled out of the ground. In those accounts, which are based on that given by Josephus, it is the _person_ who pulls out the root, and not the plant, that shrieks, subsequently rolls on the ground, and finally dies in torments. Therefore, if you wish to pull up a mandrake, the correct course to pursue is as follows: Tie a dog to the plant by its tail, and then whip the dog. It will pull up the mandrake, and then die in frightful agony!

This is the "insane root" of Macbeth, but its various uses, real or pretended, are too numerous to explain in detail.

Thus it was used for the following purposes: as a poison, an emetic, a narcotic like chloroform, in love-philtres and love-charms, as well as to dispel demons, who cannot bear its smell or its presence.

There are many of these relics of medieval times which are difficult to explain or to find a reason for.

Why, for instance, should old women always carry a sprig of Southernwood to the kirk in their Bibles? The leaves are, however, said to be disagreeable to insects. The Lavender stalks usually placed in linen both keep away insects and have a pleasant old-world scent.

A great many of the properties possessed by plants are of the most extraordinary and unsuspected nature. The roots of the Madder (_Rubia tinctorum_), for instance, when they are eaten by swine or other animals, change the colour of their bones, which become pink. This curious property has actually been made useful, for physiologists have employed madder in the study of the growth and development of bone.

In India and other eastern countries one is often shocked and surprised to find an apparently quite healthy native expectorating blood in a most lavish manner.

But the native is only chewing Betel nuts, which have the power of turning the saliva red. The fruit is that of _Areca Catechu_, a fine palm which is cultivated, for this purpose only, in many parts of India and the East. The nuts are cut in pieces and rolled up with a little lime in leaves of the Betel pepper. It is said to turn the teeth red and sometimes to produce intoxication; at any rate, people become slaves to this disgusting habit, and they do not seem to be at all injured by indulgence in it.

Another extraordinary plant is Henna (_Lawsonia inermis_). The Egyptian mummies are found to have the soles of the feet, as well as the palms and finger-and toe-nails, dyed a reddish-orange colour by the use of henna. But the practice is continued to-day in most parts of the East, and no odalisque's toilet would be considered complete without the use of henna. It is even said that men dye their beards with it.

The white horse used in processions by the Shah of Persia has its legs, tail, and body dyed with henna.

The powdered leaves are used: they are made into a paste with hot water, and then spread upon the place. It is grown in Syria, Egypt, Algeria, China, Morocco, Nubia, Guinea, and the East Indies.

In China women dye their eyebrows with an extract of the petals of _Hibiscus Rosa-sinensis_.

One of the first plants to be utilized by man was the Castor-oil (_Ricinus communis_). It was used by the Indians from time immemorial; it is mentioned by Herodotus (under the name Kiki); seeds have been found in mummy-cases, showing the careful preparations which were made for the dead when starting on their travels in the other world!

It is one of the very commonest plants in the tropics and in sub-tropical or warm, temperate countries. It is rather handsome, and has large reddish-green leaves and handsome spikes of flowers. It is said to be sometimes twelve feet high, but is usually only six or seven feet. The seeds are mottled or marbled, and have a distinct resemblance to a beetle when seen from above. It has been suggested that this protects them from birds, or enables the latter to recognize the seed, which is strongly medicinal. That, however, is at least doubtful, and certainly pigeons are exceedingly fond of the seeds and eat them in quantity. The oil is used for lighting, in making soap, and also in painting.

Another characteristic Egyptian plant was the Leek, which with the onion and garlic seems to have been one of the very first to be brought into cultivation. Herodotus says that on the Great Pyramid there was an inscription saying that 1600 talents had been paid for onions, radishes, and garlic used by the workmen during its erection.

The Jewish priests were forbidden to eat garlic, which (with cucumber) formed the dishes most regretted by the Israelites during their wanderings in the wilderness. The Shallot comes from Ascalon, where it will be remembered Richard the First defeated Saladin the Sultan, and where also Sir Sidney Smith defeated the Emperor Napoleon and made him miss his destiny. It was not brought to this country till 1548. Probably, therefore, Tennyson's Lady of Shalott lived somewhere else. Onions and leeks are of course popular in this country, and especially in Wales, where the latter has been the badge of the Welsh since they gained a victory over the Saxons in the sixth century. They wore it as a badge on that occasion by an order of St. David.

But in warmer countries onions and garlic are much more important, where they have flavoured almost every dish since the days of Nestor's banquet to Machaon in Asia, and of the Emperor Nero in Italy, until our own days.

But the subject is so inexhaustible, depending as it does upon man's powers of invention and his tendency to weird superstitions, that we must close this chapter and also the book.

And we will end by asking the reader to think sometimes of all these many and various ways in which plants help and interest man.

It is not merely because our life depends upon them. Everything that we eat has been produced by plant life and plant work.

Tea, coffee, cocoa, and wine are pleasant because plants have produced some essence which is found useful and agreeable by mankind. Even water would be tasteless and unwholesome were it not for the minute diatoms and other microscopic vegetables in it.

But those who take an interest in flowers and leaves _for themselves_, find that they need never spend a dull hour in the country. There is so much to see and to find out, even in the commonest weed or the tiniest floweret.

But it is necessary to sympathize with them, to try to look at things from their point of view, and not merely from an artistic or collector's standpoint.

The romance of plant life then becomes a fascinating and engrossing pursuit. But however long one studies it, the knowledge that the wisest naturalist can ever attain to must remain a negligible quantity compared with what he does not know.

Suppose a mouse happened to stray into the office of the editor of the _Times_, he might boast to his fellow-mice of his knowledge of the "higher journalism," but his opinions would not really be of very great value on the subject.

However hard we study, and however much we observe and reflect upon the working of this great world of Nature, we really cannot expect to know more relatively than that little mouse.

In fact, the more we think, the more humble men of heart we become, and the greater also should be our reverence for the Creator of this wonderful universe.

INDEX

Acacia, 108, 110, 111, 140, 179, 286

Acanthus, 369

Aconite, 231

Acorn, 256

Adansonia, 48

Adaptations (desert), 134

Afterglow, 132

Age of trees, 48

Agriculture (primitive), 149

Akocanthera, 229

Alder, 71

Alfred, 150

Algæ, 200, 202
" and Brittle Stars, 340

Alluvial flats, 210

Almond, 367

Alpine flowers, 103
" garden, 106

Ancient forests, 53

Angraecum, 79

Animals and poisons, 237

Animals and fruits, 241

Ants, 284-6
" and Centaury, 288

Antiaris, 230

Ant rice, 284

Aphanizomenon, 201

Aphis, 293

Apple, 248

Apple-blossom weevil, 294

Apple-sucker, 295

Arctic plants, 102, 104, 360

Arctic times, 104

Aristolochia, 78

Arrow poisons, 227, 229

Araucaria, 56

Arum, 78

Asclepiads, 78

Ash, 66

Asphodel, 368

Asses, 179

Associations, 26

Autumn crocus, 94

Aztecs, 126

Baboons, 247

Babylonian botanists, 37

Bacteria, 21, 85, 86, 95, 282, 328, 358

Balm of Gilead, 114

Banana, 248, 249

Barberry, 78, 183

Barley, 90, 272

Bartsia, 365

Bats, 246

Bean, 277

Bears, 247

Becquerel rays, 21

Bees, 74, 77

Bees and poppy, 303

Beetroot, 278, 280

Berries and winter, 245

Betel nut, 371

Bhang, 306

Bible plants, 366

Big Bad Lands, 133

Big trees, 58, 67

Birch, 60

Birch bark, 51

Birds, 85, 281
" and fruits, 245, 246, 256, 257
" and insects, 297

Bird's nest orchid, 329

Bishopsweed, 91

Bladderwort, 345

Blooming of weeds, 100

Bluebeard salvia, 74

Boers, 223

Boulger, 59

Box, 60

Bracken, 288

Bramble, 93, 183, 184, 248, 314

Brazil, 309

Breadfruit, 249

Breaking of meres, 201

Bridges of creepers, 319

Brigalow scrub, 112

Brier, 184

Britain (prehistoric), 144

British agriculture, 16

Britons, 150

Bromelia, 342

Broom, 256

Broomrape, 335

Brown, Dr. Horace, 18

Buds, 294

Buffonia, 365

Bulbs, 138

Burning bush, 115

Bushmen, 226

Buttercups, 233, 296

Butterflies, 192

Butterwort, 348

Cabbage, 23, 277

Cacti, 134, 179

Calabar bean, 232

Caledonian forest, 66

Calthrops, 185

Camargue, 161

Canadian forests, 62

Cannibals, 327

Canoes, 51

Cañons, 176

Carbon atom, 22

Carbonic acid gas, 16, 21

Carboniferous period, 55, 56

Carline thistle, 184

Cassier, 118

Castor oil, 245, 372

Catapult fruits, 263

Catchfly, 347

Cattle, 52

Cattle poisoning, 238

Caustic creeper, 235

Cedar, 59

Charlock, 275

Cherry, 97

Chickweed, 100, 346

Chicory, 125

Chinese botanists, 37

Chocolate, 125

Cinnamon, 35

Clematis, 265

Climate (effect of), 108

Climbing plants, 313

Clover, 86

Cloves, 30

Club-mosses, 55

Coal period, 55-70

Coca, 125

Cocoa, 125

Cocoanut, 259

Cockchafer, 292

Cockspur thorn, 183

Codlin moth, 295

Coffee, 123

Coffee disease, 124

Colocynth, 137

Colonizing of lavas, 171
" of shale, 173

Colorado desert, 139

Colour of birds, 81
" butterflies, 81
" flowers, 72-4
" fruits, 240

Coltsfoot, 18, 86

Congo, 309

Cooke, Dr., 201

Coralroot orchid, 329

Cotton, 265
" grass, 355
" tree, 59

Country life, 155

Cow tree, 312

Cretaceous period, 70

Crocus, 19

Crows and acorns, 256

Cucumber, 86

Cultivated plants, 269, 273

Curare, 228

Currents and seeds, 255, 259

Cypress, 59

Daffodil, 368

Dahlia, 265

Daisy, 218

Dandelion, 19, 93, 264

Danewort, 370

Darling pea, 237

Darnel, 234, 367

Date palm, 141, 251

Datura, 232

Deer, 178

Deodar, 60

Depopulation of country, 154, 155

Depth of water (plants), 205

Desert, 132

Desmids, 206

Desmoncus, 316

Destruction of plants, 61-5

Diatoms, 206

Dioscorides, 37

Dischidia, 342

Distribution of seeds, 254

Dixon, Dr., 25

Doctors, 28

Dodder, 338

Dorynicum, 263

Dragon tree, 49

Dropwort, 234

Drosera, 349

Drosophyllum, 347

Dundonald, Earl of, 151

Dwarf plants, 102

Egyptian botany, 37

Elder, 369

Electrical phenomena, 197-9

Elephant grass, 178

Esparto grass, 136

Eucalyptus, 47

Euphorbia, 110

Evening flowers, 74

Exploded pollen, 71

Fairy rings, 86

Fermentation, 242

Ferns, 172

Fig, 79, 251

Fig wasp, 79

Fires, 50, 148

Fish, 165, 206

Fish poison, 227

Flag, 203

Flies, 74, 80

Floating islands, 204

Floral clock, 76

Florida hyacinth, 209

Flowers, 68

Fly catcher, 348

Fly mushroom, 31

Fog, 203

Forestry, 43, 55

Forests, 63, 64, 220, 358, 361

Foxglove, 19, 79

Frankincense, 113

Fruits, 240

Fuegians, 51

Fungi, 80, 330
" and caterpillar, 341
" and eel-worms, 289

Galbanum, 114

Garlic, 373

Giant sawfly, 44

Ginkgo, 57

Girdleroots, 325

Goats, 52, 109, 179, 181, 184

Gooseberry, 182, 247

Goosegrass, 259

Gorse, 100, 181, 182

Gory dew, 202

Grass, 177, 185, 215, 218

Grasslands, 213, 330, 332

Grazing animals, 111, 177

Green of plants, 72

Greenfly, 293

Guanaco, 222

Gums, 111

Gutta-percha, 311

Hairs of plants, 136, 346

Hair (remedies), 30, 235

Hatasu, 113

Hawthorn, 182, 183

Hedgehog, 135

Heer, 55

Height of trees, 47

Hellebore, 231

Hemp, 305

Henna, 371

Henry, Dr., 52, 53

Holly, 186, 189, 190

Honey-dew, 293

Hop, 316

Hornwort, 208

Hot springs, 200

Humming-birds, 75

Hyacinth, 278

Hybridizing, 249, 273

Hydrophobia cures, 29

Hygroscopic grasses, 266

Ibn Sena, 37

Ice and seeds, 257

Ice plant, 136

Ice sheet, 147

Imbauba, 287

Incense, 113

Indiarubber, 307, 311

Indigo, 35

Insects, 69, 73, 168

Ipecacuanha, 34

Iris, 203

Ironwood, 58

Ivy, 79, 323

Jarrah, 60

Johnson, Dr., 151

Kangaroo, 75

Karoo, 138

Kite, 265

Kola, 127

Laburnum, 235

Lake dwellings, 52

Landes, 45

Land-forming plants, 161, 162

Larch, 181

Latex, 307

Lathrea, 336

Lava, 171

Lavender, 371

Lawns, 218

Leaf-cutting ants, 286

Leaf-miners, 297

Leaf-mould plants, 329

Leaves and light, 20

Lecanora, 167

Lecidea, 167

Leek, 372

Lewis, 54

Lianes, 314, 318

Lichens, 133, 166-71, 261

Life of flowers, 76

Lilienfeldt, 89

Lily order, 234

Lions and fruits, 258

Liverworts and animalcula, 341

Locoweed, 235

Locust tree, 367

Logwood, 35

Loranthus, 334

Madder, 371

Maidenhair tree, 57

Mallee scrub, 112

Mammoth trees, 47

Man, 247, 281, 300
" and flowers, 81
" and forests, 67

Manchineel, 228

Mandrake, 370

Mangroves, 156

Manna, 115, 261

Marshes, 211

Meadows, 213

Medicines, 27, 28

Mimulus, 70

Mistletoe, 245, 332

Mites, 299

Moats, 298

Mohammed, 119

Moly, 368

Monkey-puzzles, 56

Monotropa, 329

Moors, 353

Mosquitoes, 159

Mosses, 170, 353

Movement in plants, 14

Mud and seeds, 258

Mud rivers, 357

Mustard, 30

Myrrh, 114

Myrtle, 116, 368

Names of plants, 363

Narcissus, 368

Nepenthes, 344

Nettle, 71, 191

Nicotine, 130

Nile desert, 139

Nipa, 260

Nitrates, 84

Nomadic agriculture, 57

Number of plants, 38

Oak, 24

Oak forest, 53

Oat, 270

Obi, 232

Oil shales, 207

Olive, 48, 116, 251

Onions, 373

Opening of flowers, 76

Opium, 301

Opopanax, 114

Orange, 116, 243

Orchards, 252

Orchids, 78, 81, 330

Oxalis, 196

Painters and poets (botanists), 39

Palms, 69, 180

Pampas, 221

Paper (wood), 61, 62

Papyrus, 211

Parasitic insects, 294
" plants, 338

Pear, 188
" midge, 296

Peat, 170, 353

Peat-mosses, 353, 361

Pepper, 36

Perfumes, 73, 115, 119, 241

Petals, 98

Pfeffer, 88

Phragmites, 209

Phylloxera, 291

Pine forests, 40, 71, 148

Pine seeds, 41

Pineapple, 251, 277

Pink snow, 72

Pistacio, 69

Pitcher plant, 344

Plantain, 219

Plantations, 154

Plover, 298

Poisons, 226

Polar regions, 197

Pollen, 70

Polluted rivers, 208

Pomades, 119

Pondweeds, 205

Poppy, 263, 302

Potato, 279

Prairie, 220

Pressure inside plants, 25

Prickly pear, 243

Primula, 193

Protoplasm, 195

Quinine, 33

Rabbits, 50, 178, 182, 239

Radium rays, 21

Rafflesia, 337

Railway plants, 174

Rain of blood, 252

Rainwater (absorbed), 298

Raspberry, 92

Rattan, 47

Rat's-tail plantain, 93

Reeds, 163, 204, 209

Resin, 44, 45

Restharrow, 189

Retama, 137

Rhubarb, 36

Rimbach, 92

Roadside plants, 214

Robin-run-the-hedge, 313

Rock plants, 166, 169, 175

Rooks, 292

Roots, 86, 88, 89, 90, 137, 157, 180

Rose, 127, 182, 314

Rowan, 369

Rubber, 301, 310

Rushes, 203

Rye, 46, 272

Safflower, 34

Sago palm, 58

Saltwort, 161

Salvia, 78

Sandbox tree, 266

Sap, 23, 24

Sarracenia, 342

Satchell, 64

Savages and plants, 27

Scale insect, 288

Scenery and plants, 166

Schimper, 99

Scotch fir, 54, 71, 86, 360

Screes, 172

Scrub, 107

Scythian lamb, 32

Scythians, 224

Sea-grass, 162

Sea meadows, 162

Seaweeds, 163, 164, 171, 172

Season of flowers, 77

Sedges, 260

Selaginella, 56

Selection (principle of), 248, 277

Semaphore plant, 196

Senecio, 174

Sensitive plant, 14, 194

Sequoia, 47, 58

Shale, 173

Sheep-killing grasses, 267

Shelley, 79

Sherwood Forest, 53

Silvia Caledonica, 53

Silver fir, 58

Silurian times, 70

Smell (of flowers), 80

Smith, Dr., 54

Snow, 103

Soil, 82, 84

Solanaceæ, 234

Soldanella, 103

Solomon's seal, 94

Southernwood, 371

Speedwell, 319

Sphagnum, 357

Spice trade, 34

Spikenard, 367

Spines, 179, 186, 188, 190

Sprengel, 69

Spring, 98, 101

Squiers, 198

Squirrel, 178, 257

Stapelia, 80

Starch, 18

Starwort, 319

Steppes, 223

Sticky fruits, 255, 258

Sticky hairs, 347

Stimulus (effect of a), 14

Stomata, 23

Stones, 166

Storms, 46, 164

Strength of roots, 96
" seeds, 244
" trees, 46

Strophanthus, 229

Strychnos, 228

Subsoil, 147

Succulents, 134

Sugar (fruits), 241

Sugar-cane, 279

Sunbirds, 75

Sundew, 349

Sunlight, 19, 20

Sunshine, 17

Tanghinia, 231

Tartars, 224

Taru Desert, 110

Tea, 120

Teak, 60

Telegraph plant, 196

Temperature (flowers), 73, 103

Tendrils, 320, 321

Tennyson, 153

Theophrastus, 37, 69, 161, 184

Thistles, 91

Thorns, 179, 190

Timber, 58, 66

Tobacco, 127

Toothwort, 335

Tragacanth, 185

Trap, 146

Traveller's tree, 24

Tumble weeds, 262

Turnip, 277

Twining stems, 317

United States (forests), 62

Underground life, 94

Upas tree, 230

Utricularia, 345

Vaucheria, 163

Vegetable demons, 177

Venus' fly-trap, 351

Vestal virgins, 51

Vetch, 19

Victoria regia, 205

Vine, 248, 272, 291, 323

Virginian creeper, 323

Wait-a-bit thorn, 180

Wall plants, 166

Warning colours, 238

Water-carried pollen, 162, 200
" circulation of, 16, 25, 84, 95
" level, 217
" lily, 204

Weeds, 215, 274

Wheat, 271

Whin, 100, 181

White flowers, 74

Wild garlic, 92

Wild tamarind, 235

Willows, 165, 208

Wind (effect), 71
" and seeds, 255, 260, 264

Winged fruits, 266

Wood, 58, 59, 62, 146

Wood pigeon, 246

Woodsorrel, 19

Work of sunshine, 18

Worms, 85, 359

Xanthium, 259

X-rays, 21

Yam, 180

Yeast fungus, 243

Yew, 66, 67, 239

Yucca, 79

Zostera, 162

PLYMOUTH
WILLIAM BRENDON AND SON, LTD., PRINTERS

Transcriber's note:
Minor spelling inconsistencies, mainly hyphenated words, have been
harmonized. Obvious typos have been corrected. Exponents are
introduced with the caret character, e.g. 210^15.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Romance of Plant Life, by G. F. Scott Elliot