308 FLORA HISTORICA. 



CARDAMINE. Nasturtium Pratense. 



CUCKOO FLOWER, OR LADY'S SMOCK. 



Natural Order Siliquosa, or CrucifertB. A Genus of 

 the Tetradynamia Siliquosa Class. 



When Daisies pied, and Violets blue, 



And Lady's Smocks all silver white, 

 And Cuckoo-buds of yellow hue, 

 Do paint the meadows with delight. 



Shakspeare. 



That our great dramatic poet should thus describe 

 one of the most delicate and beautiful of our native 

 plants, shows what charms vegetable beauties had 

 for his capacious mind. The happy expression 

 " silver white, 11 exactly describes the tint of these 

 flowers, some of which are nearly of a pure white 

 colour, whilst others have that purple cast so 

 peculiar to highly-polished silver. As this plant 

 flowers in April, and is in full beauty in the month 

 of May, it generally forms a conspicuous figure 

 in the May-day garlands of the children of our 

 peasantry, which Walton thus notices in his 

 Angler : — " See here a boy gathering Lilies and 

 Lady-Smocks, and there a girl cropping Culver- 

 keys and Cowslips, all to make garlands. 1 ' 



