THE PLANT WORLD 51 



smaller." The " two leaves speckled with great red spots, the tender 

 stalke, with one flonre, like the wild lily, of colour white, pale purple, 

 like to a carnation or flesh colour ; out of the midst of this floure there 

 hang six small throms or short threds, with little titles or pointed 

 notes, like as in the Lillies." " The roote, long and slender, like to a The- 

 ball with certaine hairy threds or strings hanging at it." The seed cap- 

 sule is also mentioned " as a rounde knop or little head, in which the 

 seed is contained." There is no allusion to the seeds, reminding the 

 ancients of dog's-teeth. However, " of the nature and vertues," con- 

 tinues Dodoens, "we can afiirme nothing, but if it be Ephemeron non 

 letlierel, known as Lilium Sylvester of Dioscorides, ast^seemeth to be, then 

 it is good for the teeth, as Dioscorides saith : as he writeth, the water 

 wherein the rootes is boiled is wholesome, and especially good for the 

 teeth." 



The designation of " dog's-tooth violet " is of later origin, and at 

 least is a misapplied name given this lily, by children, since it blooms 

 in early spring time with violets, marsh marigold and arbutus. There- 

 fore the common name, dog's-tooth lily (Erythronium), known to the 

 ancients before Christ, should be re-established according to a moral 

 rule of priority for common names in the Illustrated Flora of North- 

 eastern North America (page 420), 1896, where it was purposely dropped 

 by the authors. Dog's-tooth "violet''' was misleading, yet "yellow 

 adder's tongue," the present designation, is quite as incorrect, having 

 originated before Pliny's day from the Latin Lingua Serpenfis, and 

 becomes in English adder's tongue. This name applies more especi- 

 ally to a fern described as " producing one leaf a finger long, bearing a 

 little tongue like a serpent,". Linnaeus knew this plant in 1753 as ad- 

 der's-tongue {Ophioglossmn vidgatum). The name " adder's-grass," 

 however, was a common English designation for a species of Orchis or 

 Satyrion, which may have been applied to Pogonia Ophioglossoides later, 

 now commonly called snake-mouth. 



Satyrion Erythronium or Dioscorides Satyrion was also known as 

 red satyrion, and produced leaves " somewhat broad like lilies, and 

 somewhat red." "The stalke bare and naked, halfe a foote high, pro- 

 duced white flowers at the top like unto lilHes." This plant had " a 

 bulbous or rounde roote like an apple, of a fiery yellow or reddish col- 

 our without and white like the white of an egg within, of a sweete 

 taste." Thus originated the Erythroniums, the Red Satyrion of the 

 ancient Syrians. 



Professor Gray formerly called attention, in his Manual (1887), to 

 " the dog's-tooth violet " " producing three inner sepals," " usually with a 

 callous tooth on each side of the erect base, with a groove in the mid- 

 dle." 



