56 AMONG THE WILD FLOWERS. 
species of Solomon’s Seal, Polygonatum ,; but 
they are properly placed in Nat. Ord. Aspara- 
GACE&, to which the Asparagus, a rare sea-coast 
plant, gives name. The name Solomon's Sead 
is from circular scars left in the old rhizome or 
underground stem, having a fancied resemblance 
to the impressions of a seal. These scars are 
the points from which last year’s stems of 
flowers grew. 
The curious Butcher’s Broom, Ruscus Acu- 
leatus, with its small flowers upon the middle of 
the leaf-like flattened shoots, belongs to this 
Order. It abounds in the Isle of Wight. In 
gardens in the north it produces only flowers ; 
in the south it ripens scarlet berries. 
A plant of most curious structure, equal in 
that respect to any foreign one, is now in per- 
fection in our banks, Arum maculatum, called 
of old, Cuckoo-pint. Its fresh and shining 
leaves are very early seen, in shape reminding 
us of those exquisite painted-leafed species, the 
Caladiums, whose foliage attracts us in the hot- 
house. 
The Nat. Ord. Arace# derives its name from 
the genus Arum; the separate position of its 
stamens and pistils, although they are closely 
