CORONARIE^ 325 



of-the-Valley among thorns was one of the emblems 

 of the Virgin Mary. There is a superstition that it 

 is unlucky to transplant a bed of Lilies-of-the-Valley, 

 and in Devonshire it is also unlucky to plant a bed, 

 as the person who does will probably die in the 

 ensuing year. 



CoNVALLARiA MAjALis. — The illustration (Fig. 87) 

 shows the habit of the plant, with its two alternate leaves 

 and sheathing stalks, and the loose raceme with drooping 

 flowers. 



SiMETHis (Simethis bicolor). 



There was a Sicilian nymph of the name of 

 Symethis from which this plant is named. The second 

 Latin name refers to the two colours of the flower. 



Extremely rare in England, and practically extinct 

 in Dorset, the last plants being removed to a safe 

 place for preservation, Simethis also grows in 

 Ireland. Its nativity has been questioned, for it has 

 been supposed to have been introduced from the 

 West of Europe with seeds of Pinus Pinaster, which 

 grows at Bournemouth. 



Fir woods, open sandy heath and wastes or rocky 

 places are the habitats of this rare plant. 



There is a short rootstock and the roots are tufted, 

 stout, thick, fleshy, and fibrous. The leaves are 

 radical, linear, long, grass-like, bent back, flat, or 

 keeled above, sheathing, brown, flat, concave. Scales 

 enclose the stem (or scape) and leaves, which latter 

 are surrounded by torn fleshy fibres. 



