56 THE STORY OF, PLANT Live 
The poet of human nature here has in mind the 
damask-like effect of a meadow dotted with its 
countless blooms as a pure white sheet, hence one 
rendering of the name Ladies’ Smock. In the alterna- 
tive spelling Ladysmock it may be that it was, like» 
many flowers in medizval times, dedicated to Our 
Lady, the Virgin Mary. It is also called cuckoo- 
flower because it is in flower when the cuckoo comes, 
but many other flowers are so-called, and there is 
uncertainty as to which is really meant, an argument 
for the binomial Latin nomenclature invented by 
Linnzus, adapted from the older Latin descriptions 
of a few Latin sentences. 
When called Bitter Cress it is applied to the 
pungent nature of this and other species, as well as 
Water Cress, and the Lady’s Smock was used as a 
salad, and as a remedy in certain complaints such as 
epilepsy. 
The first Latin name suggests its supposed power 
of soothing the heart, in convulsions, etc. The 
second Latin name indicates its principal habitat—a 
meadow. Wet, low-lying meadows are its principal 
haunts, but it may also be found on the roadside, 
and I have noticed that it is frequent in well-shaded 
churchyards, or even occasionally in a wood. 
In a meadow it is usually abundant, growing all 
over a flat marshy tract, dotting it like the Golden 
Buttercup with its equally lovely lilac or white 
flowers. A clump growing bya stream-side has an 
extremely beautiful effect. 
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