42 pPant "bore, Tsege^/, and. I^ijncf, 



gather it on the morning of the Feast of the Ascension, and suspend 

 it on the walls of bed-rooms till the day of the Nativity of the Virgin 

 (8th September), from which it derives its name — the Herb of the 

 Madonna. It generally opens its flowers after it has been gathered, 

 retaining sufficient sap to make it do so. This opening of a cut 

 flower is regarded by the peasantry as a token of the special 

 blessing of the Virgin. Should the flower not open, it is taken as 

 an omen of the Divine displeasure. In the province of Bellune, in 

 Italy, the Matvicavia Parthenium is called the Herb of the Blessed 

 Mary : this flower was formerly consecrated to Minerva. 



In Denmark, Norway, and Iceland, they give the name of 

 Mariengras (Herb of Mary) to different Ferns, and in tliose coun- 

 tries Mary often replaces the goddess Freyja, the Venus of the 

 North, in the names of flowers. No doubt the monks of old 

 delighted in bestowing upon the Virgin Mary the floral attributes 

 of Venus, Freyja, Isis, and other goddesses of the heathen ; but, 

 nevertheless, it is not long since that a Catholic writer complained 

 that at the Reformation " the very names of plants were changed 

 in order to divert men's minds from the least recollection of ancient 

 Christian piety ; " and a Protestant writer of the last century, 

 bewailing the ruthless action of the Puritans in giving to the 

 " Queen of Beauty " flowers named after the " Queen of Heaven," 

 says : " Botany, which in ancient times was full of the Blessed 

 Virgin Mary, .... is now as full of the heathen Venus." 



Amongst the titles of honour given to the Virgin in the 

 ' Ballad of Commendation of Our Lady,' in the old editions of 

 Chaucer, we find: " Benigne braunchlet of the Pine tree." 



In England "Lady" in the names of plants generally has 

 allusion to Our Lady, Notre Dame, the Virgin Mary. Our Lady's 

 Mantle [Alchemilla vulgavis) is the Mariu Stakkr of Iceland, which 

 insures repose when placed beneath the pillow. Scandix Pecten was 

 Our Lady's Comb, but in Puritan times was changed into Venus' 

 Comb. The Cardamine pratensis is Our Lady's Smock ; Neottia spiralis, 

 Our Lady's Tresses; Anneria vulgaris, Our Lady's Cushion; Anthyllis 

 vulneraria, Our Lady's Fingers; Campanula hybrida, OurLady's Look- 

 ing-glass ; Cypripediiim Calceolus, Our Lady's Slipper ; the Cowslip, 

 Our Lady's Bunch of Keys ; Black Briony, Our Lady's Seal (a 

 name which has been transferred from Solomon's Seal, of which 

 the 'Grete Herbal' states, " It is al one herbe, Solomon's Scale and 

 Our Lady's Scale"). Quaking Grass, Briza media, is Our Lady s 

 Hair; Maidenhair Fern, the Virgin's Hair; Mary-golds [Calendula 

 officinalis) and Mary-buds [Caltha palustris) are both named after the 

 Virgin Mary. The Campanula and the Digitalis are in France the 

 Gloves of Mary ; the Nardus Celtica is by the Germans called 

 Marienhlumen ; the White-flowered Wormwood is Unser Frauen Rauch 

 (Smoke of Our Lady) ; Mentha spicata is in French, Menthe de Notre 

 Dame — in German, Unser Frauen Miintz ; the Costus hortensis, the 

 Eupatorium, the Matricaria, the Gallitrichum sativum, the Tanacetum, the 



