134 FAMILIAR WILD FLOWERS. 



occurred of fatal result to horses and cattle from an im- 

 prudent neglect of the warning instinct, and an indulgence 

 in "the baneful juice which poisonous Colchian glebes 

 produce/' 



The meadow saffron derives its generic name from 

 Colchis, where it was said to be found abundantly, and 

 where its medicinal properties were first discovered ; while 

 the specific name clearly indicates the date of its flowering. 

 The familiar name indicates its resemblance to the true 

 saffron, the Crocus sativus of botanists. The meadow 

 saffron is a somewhat local plant, being found in profusion 

 in some districts of England and Ireland, while others may 

 be searched in vain ; in Scotland it seems to be distinctly 

 a rare plant. The feature that will at once strike even 

 the most unobservant is that it is absolutely leafless at the 

 time when its lilac blossoms render it most conspicuous, so 

 that we may gather a handful of flowers, but any verdant 

 additions we may deem our nosegay to require must come 

 from another source. The flowers rise from the ground to 

 a height of some four or five inches, supported on the 

 slender tube that rises from the subterranean bulb. The 

 lower part of each blossom is enclosed in the membranous 

 sheath that enwraps them all. After the season of flowering, 

 the leaves appear, and then the seed-capsule, but all withers 

 again before the recurring autumn blossoms. The leaves are 

 by no means inconspicuous, for they often attain to a length 

 of nine or ten inches, and have a breadth of over an inch ; 

 but as one never finds the leaves and flowers together, this 

 verdant spring foliage is naturally not often associated in 

 people's minds with flowers that will make no sign until 

 all this show of foliage has died away. The ovary is 

 within the tube of the flower, but so low down as to be 



