"isfj^^^ FRAXINELLA. 



FRAXINELLA {Dictmnniis /^.).— Fire. 



Fraxinella, the specific name, was given to this plant 

 because its leaves closely resemble those of the Ash 

 (Fraxinus). If you rub the plant with your fingers it will 

 emit a lemon scent ; if you bruise it, the fragrance will be 

 balsamic. The footstalks of the flowers are supposed to 

 contain this fine scent. They are studded with glands of a 

 rusty red, which exude a resinous or viscous fluid. This fluid 

 exhales in vapour, and may be seen to take fire in dark 

 places. It is alleged that when the day has been very hot 

 and dry, and the evening damp, this exhalation is so inflam- 

 mable as to ignite if a lighted bougie be brought near the 

 plant. 



FUMITORY {Fiunaria officinalis). — Hatred. 



A PRETTY weed, whose leaves smell rather disagreeable. 

 The taste of the plant is somewhat bitter and saline, and is so 

 offensive to the palate that it has been called by the French, 

 Fiel de teri^e, and appropriated as the emblem of Hatred. 



GARDEN WALL-FLOWER {Chciranthus cheiri).— 

 Lasting Beauty. 



The Greeks delighted in flowers, but were unacquainted 

 with the art of cultivating and improving them ; they 

 received them as the wild gifts of nature. With the arts of 



