358 FLORA HISTORICA. 



Mortimer retains the old name of Holyocks 

 for these plants in his work on husbandry, as 

 late as the year 1707, wherein he says " Holy- 

 ocks far exceed Poppies for their durableness, 

 and are very ornamental." Turner spells it 

 Holyhock, and Gerard, and after him Parkinson, 

 calls it Hollihocke. 



The French, who consider this plant as a native 

 of Syria, call it by several different names, as 

 Rose tremiere, Rose d'oiitre-mer, Rose de mer, Rose 

 de Damas, 



Botanists have named it Alcea, from the Greek 

 word At^kyj, on account of its supposed medicinal 

 strength in curing the dysentery, S"c., for which 

 it was formerly held in great repute. 



In floral language the Hollyhock is figured as 

 the symbol of Fecundity, and its extreme fruit- 

 fulness seems to justify the device. 



These plants grow naturally in various eastern 

 parts of the globe. It is common in China, from 

 whence the seeds of the tall as well as the dwarf 

 Hollyhock have been frequently received. Pliny 

 speaks of this flower in the fourth chapter of his 

 twenty-first book, where he describes it as a rose 

 growing on stalks like the Mallow ; and Miller 

 says he received seeds of these plants from Istria, 

 where it was gathered in the fields ; but these 

 seeds produced single, red flowers only, whereas 



