64 FAMILIAR WILD FLOWERS. 



Saxifraga tuberosa radice; this name, which clearly refers 

 to the tuberous root, a very marked feature in the plant, 

 is not by any means a bad one. The various species of 

 saxifrage are chiefly dwellers amongst the rocks, and 

 ordinarily flourish in greatest perfection on the high 

 mountain-ranges of Europe, only two or three of the 

 numerous species being found elsewhere ; those, therefore, 

 who would seek them in Britain must visit the high 

 mountain regions of Cumberland and Westmoreland, the 

 Welsh mountains, or the Scottish ranges for the greater 

 part of them, and many of them are well worth the 

 seeking. 



The word saxifrage is derived from the Latin words 

 signifying a rock, and to break, for it was believed 

 that the penetrating roots of the plants disintegrated 

 the rocks, hence in some old herbals it is called breakstone, 

 and its names in French, German, and Dutch carry a like 

 significance. 



