CROWFOOT TRIBE 23 



riowers in June and July ; and in spring its delicate leaves, half unfolded, 

 tinged with pink, and wearing a grey-green bloom on their surface, are very 

 pretty. The plant was formerly used medicinally, l)ut it is by no means a 

 safe medicine, and Linnaeus says that children have died from taking it. 

 Michael Drayton introduces this flower in one of his poems : 



" Make her a goodly chaplet of azured cullanibine, 

 And wreath about her coronet with sweetest eglantine, 



Bedeck our Beta all with lilies, 



And the daintie datl'adillies, 

 With roses daniaske, white and red, and fairest flower-de-lice, 

 AVith cowslips of Jerusalem, and cloves of Paradise." 



Chapman, however, alludes to some idea respecting the flower which is 



now uni'emembered : 



" AV hat's that ? — a columbine ? 

 No ; that thankless flower grows not in my garden. " 



12. Larkspur {Delphinium). 



Field Larkspur {D. consulida). — Stem erect, branched ; flowers in 

 loose racemes ; petals combined ; inner spur of one piece. Plant perennial. 

 This flower is a doubtful native, though often growing in sandy or chalky 

 fields. Professor Henslow remarks that, about Cambridge, at Quay, the hills 

 are quite blue with it ; and adds, that it also occurs with red, pink, and white 

 flowers. It blossoms in June and July. It was formerly regarded as a most 

 powerful vulnerary, and hence its specific name, from consolidare, to unite. 

 Other praises it had, too, in former days; for Gei'arde says of it, "The seed 

 is good against the stinging of scorpions ; and its virtues are so forcible, that 

 if the herbe only be thrown before the scorpion or any venomous beast, it 

 causeth them to be Avithout force or strength, insomuch that they cannot stir 

 or move, until the herbe be taken away." Our old herbalist, however, does 

 not pretend to have witnessed its powers, but judiciously prefaces his account 

 with "It is said." In his time the flower was called Knight's-spur and Lark- 

 heel. The French term it Fled d'Aloueite, as well as La Davphinelle ; the 

 Germans, Der liittersporn ; and the Italians and Spaniards have also a refer- 

 ence to its spurred petals in their familiar names. Thus the former people 

 call it Spcronella, and the latter Espuela de CabalJero. 



There has been some confusion respecting the scientific name of this plant, 

 Avhich is the D. ajacis of Reichenbach. The I), consolida of Linnajus differs in 

 several points, and does not occur in this country. 



13. Monk's-hood {Aconitum). 

 Common Monk's-hood {A. napSllus). — Upper sepal arched at the back; 

 spur of the nectary nearly conical ; leaves stalked and 3-ternate ; leaflets ovate, 

 deeply cut and serrated. Plant perennial. There are some doubts as to 

 whether this plant is truly wild, but it is to be found in places far from houses 

 or gardens, and has, at any rate, been naturalized for some centuries. The 

 author has received it from a lonely place in the Forest of Dean, in Gloucester- 

 shire ; and it is found, though rarely, by the sides of streams and in woods. It 

 grows in several places in Devonshire, and is described as flourishing in some 

 profusion in a small meadow on the margin of a limpid stream near Ojwell 



