12 POPULAR NAMES 



ASPHODEL, Gr. oo-0oSe\o?, a word of unknown deriva- 

 tion, applied in Homer (Odyss. xi. 539) as an epithet to 

 a meadow, ev aff<f>o$e\a> Xeifjicavt. The plant so called by 

 Greek writers of a later age, was one that had edible roots, 

 that were laid in tombs to be food for the dead, and is that 

 to which Charon alludes in Lucian's KaraTrKovs, c. 2 : "I 

 know," says he, " why Mercury keeps us waiting so long. 

 Down here with us there is nothing to be had but asphodel, 

 and libations, and oblations ; and that in the midst of mist 

 and darkness ; but up in heaven it is all bright and clear, 

 and plenty of ambrosia there, and nectar without stint." 

 This root, under the name of cibo regio, food for a king, 

 was highly esteemed in the middle ages, but however im- 

 proved by cultivation, it is likely to have been troublesome 

 by its diuretic qualities, and has probably for that reason 

 gone out of fashion. There is some ground to suspect that 

 it was the original claimant of an expressive name that has 

 since passed to the dandelion. 



The plant of the Greek poets is supposed to be the 



Narcissus poeticus, L. 



That of Lucian and of modern botanists, Asphodelus, L. 



That of our earlier English and French poets, 



Narcissus Pseudonarcissus, L. 

 BOG-, or LANCASHIRE-, 



Narthecium ossifragum, Huds. 

 SCOTCH-, Tofieldia palustris, Huds. 



ASSES-FOOT, Fr. pas d'dne, the colt's foot, from the shape 

 of the leaf, Tussilago Farfara, L. 



ASS-PARSLEY, in old works given as the translation of 

 Fr. cicutaire, the same, probably, as fools-parsley, 



JEthusa Cynapium, L. 



ASTER, Gr. dun-rip, a star, from the radiate flower, 



Aster, L. 



AUTUMN-BELLS, from its bell-shaped flowers and their 

 season of opening, Gentiana Pneumonanthe, L. 



