202 POPULAR FIELD BOTANY. 
derives its name from its supposed virtues in curing the 
bite of vipers, but it is now considered useless as a remedy. 
Our ancestors were very apt to imagine that any resemblance 
to an animal in a plant denoted that it was efficacious 
against its poison, or bite; thus, because this plant has a 
spotted stem like a snake, they thought it would heal the 
bite of a viper. Notwithstanding its inutility im this respect, 
it is a beautiful plant, and often converts a waste place mto 
a gay garden. Its beautiful corolla, at first reddish purple, 
and afterwards brilliant blue, renders it one of our prettiest 
wild flowers. The spike of numerous flowers is rolled up 
in a similar manner to those of the Myosotis. 'The stem is 
stout, and rises two or three feet high, being, as well as the 
narrow leaves, so rough with prickles, that even the donkey 
refuses to eat it. Sandy and gravelly soils are peculiarly 
congenial to this plant, and it is said to make its appearance 
more plentifully every third year. There is another species 
found in Jersey with violet-coloured flowers, and of a less 
rough nature than the last, called EZ. violaceum. 
