Part II.).

Numerous indeed are the plants named after the Horse, either on account of the use they are put to, the shape of their foliage, &c., their large size, or the coarseness of their texture. _Inula Helenium_ is Horse-heal, a name attached to the plant by a double blunder of _Inula_ for _hinnula_, a Colt, and _Helenium_, for heal or heel; employed to heal Horses of sore heels, &c. _Vicia Faba_ is the Horse Bean; _Teucrium Chamædrys_, the Germander, is called Horse Chire, from its springing up after Horse-droppings. _Melampyrum sylvaticum_ is the Horse Flower, so called from a verbal error. The Alexandrian Laurel was formerly called Horse Tongue. _Tussilago Farfara_, from the shape of its leaf, is termed Horse Hoof. _Centaurea nigra_ is Horse Knob. Another name for Colt’s Foot is Horse Foot; and we have Horse Thistle, Mint, Mushroom, Parsley, Thyme, and Radish. The Dutch Rush, _Equisetum_, is called Horse Tail, a name descriptive of its shape; _Hippocrepis comosa_ is known as the Horse-shoe Vetch, from the shape of the legumes; and, lastly, the _Œnanthe Phellandrium_ is the Horse Bane, because, in Sweden, it is supposed to give Horses the palsy. In Mexico, the Rattle Grass is said to instantly kill Horses who unfortunately eat it. The Indians call the Oleander Horse’s Death, and they name several plants after different parts of the Horse. In connection with Horses, we must not forget to mention the Moonwort, which draws the nails out of the Horses’ shoes, and of which Culpeper writes: “Moonwort is an herb which they say will open locks and unshoe such Horses as tread upon it; this some laugh to scorn, and those no small fools neither; but country people that I know, call it Unshoe-the-Horse. Besides, I have heard commanders say that, on White Down, in Devonshire, near Tiverton, there were found thirty horse-shoes, pulled off from the Earl of Essex’s horses, being then drawn up in a body, many of them being newly shod, and no reason known, which caused much admiration, and the herb described usually grows upon heaths.” In Italy, the herb _Sferracavallo_ is deemed to have the power of unshoeing Horses out at pasture. The Mouse-ear, or _Herba clavorum_, is reputed to prevent blacksmiths hurting horses when being shod. The Scythians are said to have known a plant, called _Hippice_, which, when given to a Horse, would enable him to travel for some considerable time without suffering either from hunger or thirst. Perhaps this is the Water Pepper, which, according to English tradition, has the same effect if placed under the saddle.

The humble Hedgehog has suggested the name of Hedgehog Parsley for _Caucalis daucoides_, on account of its prickly burs.

In a previous chapter, a full description has been given of the _Barometz_, that mysterious plant of Tartary, immortalised by Darwin as the Vegetable Lamb. From the shape of its leaf, the _Plantago media_ has gained the name of Lamb’s Tongue; from its downy flowers, the _Anthyllis vulneraria_ is called Lamb’s Toe; either from its being a favourite food of Lambs, or because it appears at the lambing season, the _Valerianella olitoria_ is known as Lamb’s Lettuce; and the _Atriplex patula_ is called Lamb’s Quarters.

The Leopard has given its name to the deadly _Doronicum Pardalianches_ (from the Greek _Pardalis_, a Leopard, and _ancho_, to strangle); hence our name of Leopard’s Bane, because it was reputed to cause the death of any animal that ate it, and it was therefore formerly mixed with flesh to destroy Leopards.

The Lion, according to Gerarde, claimed several plants. The _Alchemilla vulgaris_, from its leaf resembling his foot, was called Lion’s Foot or Paw; a plant, called _Leontopetalon_ by the Greeks, was known in England as Lion’s Turnip or Lion’s Leaf; and two kinds of Cudweed, _Leontopodium_ and _L. parvum_, bore the name of Lion’s Cudweed, from their flower-heads resembling a Lion’s foot. The _Leontopodium_ has been identified with the _Gnaphalium Alpinum_, the _Filago stellata_, the Edelweiss of the Germans, and the _Perlière des Alpes_ of the French. De Gubernatis points out that, inasmuch as the Lion represents the Sun, the plants bearing the Lion’s name are essentially plants of the Sun. This is particularly noticeable in the case of the Dandelion (_Dent de Lion_) or Lion’s Tooth. In Geneva, Switzerland, children form a chain of these flowers, and holding it in their hands, dance in a circle; a German name for it is _Sonneswirbel_ (_Solstice_), as well as _Solsequium heliotropium_. The Romans saw in the flower of the _Helianthus_ a resemblance to a Lion’s mouth. In the _Orobanche_ or Broom Rape (the _Sonnenwurz_, Root of the Sun, of the Germans) some have seen the resemblance to a Lion’s mouth and foot; it was called the Lion’s Pulse or Lion’s Herb, and was considered an antidote to poison.

The tiny Mouse, like the majestic Lion, is represented in the vegetable kingdom by several plants. From the shape of the leaves, _Hieracium Pilosella_ is known as Mouse Ear, _Cerastium vulgare_, Mouse Ear Chickweed, and _Myosotis palustris_, or Forget-Me-Not, Mouse Ear Scorpion Grass. _Myosurus minimus_, from the shape of its slender seed-spike, is called Mouse Tail; and _Alopecurus agrestis_, Mouse Tail Grass. _Hordeum marinum_ is Mouse Barley.

Swine plants are numerous. We have the Swine Bane, Sow Bane, or Pig Weed (_Chenopodium rubrum_), a herb which, according to Parkinson, was “found certain to kill Swine.” The Pig Nut (_Bunium flexuosum_) is so called from its tubers being a favourite food of Pigs. Sow Bread (_Cyclamen Europæum_) has obtained its name for a similar reason; and Swine’s Grass (_Polygonum aviculare_) is so called because Swine are believed to be fond of it. _Hyoseris minima_ is Swine Succory, and _Senebiera Coronopus_, Swine’s Cress. For possession of the Dandelion, the Pig enters the lists with the Lion, and claims the flower as the Swine’s Snout, on account of the form of its receptacle. According to Du Bartas, Swine, when affected with the spleen, seek relief by eating the Spleenwort or Miltwaste (_Asplenium Ceterach_),

“The Finger-Fern, which being given to Swine, It makes their milt to melt away in fine.”

De Gubernatis states that the god Indra is thought to have taken the form of a Goat, and he gives a long list of Indian plants named after Sheep and Goats. The Ram, He-Goat, and Lamb, called _Mesha_, also give their names, in Sanscrit, to different plants. In England, _Rumex Acetosella_ is Sheep’s Sorrel, _Chærophyllum temulum_ Sheep’s Parsley, _Jasione montana_ Sheep’s-Bit-Scabious, and _Hydrocotyle vulgaris_, or White Rot, Sheep’s Bane, from its character of poisoning Sheep.

The Squirrel, although a denizen of the woods, only claims one plant, _Hordeum maritimum_, which, from the shape of its flower-spike, has obtained the name of Squirrel Tail.

The Elephant has a whole series of Indian trees and plants dedicated to him, which are enumerated by De Gubernatis; the _Bignonia suaveolens_ is called the Elephant’s Tree; and certain Cucumbers, Pumpkins, and Gourds are named after him.

The Wolf, in India, gives its name to the _Colypea hernandifolia_, and Wolf’s Eye is a designation given to the _Ipomœa Turpethum_. Among the Germans, the Wolf becomes, under the several names of _Graswolf_, _Kornwolf_, _Roggenwolf_, and _Kartoffelwolf_, a demon haunting fields and crops. In our own country, the _Euphorbia_, from its acrid, milky juice, is called Wolf’s Milk; the _Lycopodium clavatum_ is the Wolf’s Claw, and the _Aconitum Lycoctonum_ is Wolf’s Bane, a name it obtained in olden times when hunters were in the habit of poisoning with the juice of this plant the baits of flesh they laid for Wolves.

There are several plants bearing, in some form or other, the appellation of Dragon. The common Dragon (_Arum Dracunculus_) is, as its name implies, a species of Arum, which sends up a straight stalk about three feet high, curiously spotted like the belly of a serpent. The flower of the Dragon plant has such a strong scent of carrion, that few persons can endure it, and it is consequently usually banished from gardens. Gerarde describes three kinds of Dragons, under the names of Great Dragon, Small Dragon, and Water Dragon: these plants all have homœopathic qualities, inasmuch as although they are by name at least vegetable reptiles, yet, according to Dioscorides, all who have rubbed the leaves or roots upon their hands, will not be bitten by Vipers. Pliny also says that Serpents will not come near anyone who carries a portion of a Dragon plant with him, and that it was a common practice in his day to keep about the person a piece of the root of this herb. Gerarde tells us that “the distilled water has vertue against the pestilence or any pestilentiall fever or poyson, being drunke bloud warme with the best treacle or mithridate.” He also says that the smell of the flowers is injurious to women who are about to become mothers. The Green Dragon (_Arum Dracontium_), a native of China, Japan, and America, possesses a root which is prescribed as a very strong emmenagogue. There is a species of Dragon which grows in the morasses about Magellan’s Strait, whose flowers exhibit the appearance of an ulcer, and exhale so strong an odour of putrid flesh, that flesh-flies resort to it to deposit their eggs. Another Dragon plant is the _Dracontium polyphyllum_, a native of Surinam and Japan, where they prepare a medicine from the acrid roots, which they call _Konjakf_, and esteem as a great emmenagogue: it is used there to procure abortion. _Dracontium fœtidum_, Fetid Dragon, or Skunk-weed, flourishes in the swamps of North America, and has obtained its nickname from its rank smell, resembling that of a Skunk or Pole-cat. Dragon’s Head (_Dracocephalum_) is a name applied to several plants. The Moldavian Dragon’s Head is often called Moldavian or Turk’s Balm. The Virginian Dragon’s Head is named by the French, _La Cataleptique_, from its use in palsy and kindred diseases. The Canary Dragon’s Head, a native of the Canary Islands, is called (improperly) Balm of Gilead, from its fine odour when rubbed. The old writers called it _Camphorosma_ and _Cedronella_, and ascribed to it, as to other Dragon plants, the faculty of being a remedy for the bites and stings of venomous beasts, as well as for the bites of mad Dogs. The Tarragon (_Artemisia Dracunculus_), “the little Dragon,” is the Dragon plant of Germany and the northern nations, and the _Herbe au Dragon_ of the French. The ancient herbalists affirmed that the seed of the Flax put into a Radish-root or Sea Onion, and so set, would bring forth the herb Tarragon. The Snake Weed was called by the ancients, Dragon and Little Dragon, and the Sneezewort, Dragon of the Woods. The Snap-dragon appears to have been so named merely from the shape of its corolla, but in many places it is said to have a supernatural influence, and to possess the power of destroying charms.

Snakes are represented by the _Fritillaria Meleagris_, which is called Snake’s Head, on account of its petals being marked like Snakes’ scales. The Sea Grass (_Ophiurus incurvatus_) is known as Snake’s Tail, and the Bistort (_Polygonum Bistorta_) is Snake Weed.

Vipers have the _Echium vulgare_ dedicated to them under the name of Viper’s Bugloss, a plant supposed to cure the bite of these reptiles; and the _Scorzonera edulis_, or Viper’s Grass, a herb also considered good for healing wounds caused by Vipers.

The Scorpion finds a vegetable representative in the _Myosotis_, or Scorpion Grass, so named from its spike resembling a Scorpion’s Tail.

It is not surprising to find that Toads and Frogs, living as they do among the herbage, should have several plants named after them. The Toad, according to popular superstition, was the impersonation of the Devil, and therefore it was only fit that poisonous and unwholesome Fungi should be called Toad Stools, the more so as there was a very general belief that Toads were in the habit of sitting on them:--

“The griesly Todestol grown there mought I see, And loathed paddocks lording on the same.”--_Spenser._

Growing in damp places, haunted by Toads croaking and piping to one another, the _Equisetum limosum_, with its straight, fistulous stalks, has obtained the name of Toad Pipe. The _Linaria vulgaris_, from its narrow Flax-like leaves, is known as Toad Flax, from a curious mistake of the old herbalists who confounded the Latin words _bubo_ and _bufo_.

Frogs claim as their especial plants the Frog Bit (_Morsus ranæ_), so called because Frogs are supposed to eat it; Frog’s Lettuce (_Potamogeton densus_); Frog Grass (_Salicornia herbacea_); and Frog Foot, a name originally assigned to the Vervain (the leaf of which somewhat resembles a Frog’s foot); but now transferred to the Duck Meat, _Lemna_.

Bees are recognised in the _Delphinium grandiflorum_, or Bee Larkspur; the _Galeopsis Tetrahit_, or Bee Nettle; the _Ophrys apifera_, or Bee Orchis; and the _Daucus Carota_, or Bee’s Nest.

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