S6 SEDUM NEVII. NEVIUS' STONE-CROP. 



this one, and we shall, therefore, have to look to some more 

 plausible reason for the origin of the name. It seems much 

 more probable that it comes from scdo, " to assuage," and has 

 reference to the healing properties of the Houseleek, which 

 latter, as already noted, is regarded as the original Scdum. The 

 Houseleek, indeed, has been for ages one of the most popular 

 remedies for relieving pain. An old herbalist says of it, " The 

 leaves, bruised and laid upon the crown or fore part of the head, 

 stop the bleeding of the nose very quickly ; and being a^Dplied 

 to the temples and forehead, it eases the headache, and allays 

 the beat and distemper of the brain through fevers, frenzies, or 

 want of sleep. The green leaves allay all sorts of inflammations 

 in any part of the body, as in erysipelas or Anthony's fire, and 

 all other hot eruptions of the flesh and skin ; and when applied 

 to the sting of nettles or of bees, it presently takes away the 

 pain." Indeed, it is because of its great use in burns and scalds 

 that it is so commonly found in old-fashioned gardens, grown by 

 old-fashioned people, who have more faith in herbs at hand than 

 in the prescriptions of physicians. With this popular impression 

 of the value of the Houseleek, and the connection of the plant 

 with the ancient appellation Scdum, it seems probable that sedo, 

 and not sedeo, is the root of its name ; and this becomes still 

 more probable when we note that e is used long, and not short, 

 as in sedentary, as it would probably be if the two words were 

 really derived from the same root. 



The name Stone-Crop may, perhaps, have been derived 

 from the plant " sitting " on stones. The old Saxon word crop 

 signified the top of anything, as when we say the " rock crops 

 out," we mean we see the top of the rock above the ground ; 

 and as many of the rocks of England are " cropped " with 

 Sedums, and cropped by them in a very beautiful manner in 

 many instances, there is no difficulty in accepting this as the 

 origin of the common name. 



Many of the old-world Scdiims have a hot, biting taste, as 

 for instance the S. acre, or " Love-entangle " of old gardens. 



