238 FLOWERS OF THE ROADSIDES AND HEDGES 



Cuckoo-point, Cuckoo-spit, Dead Man's Fingers, Devil's Ladies-and- 

 Gentlemen, Devil's Men-and-Women, Dog-bobbins, Dog's Spear, 

 Dog's Dibble, Dog's Tansle, Great or Small Dragon, Dragon's 

 Fingers, Lords and Ladies' Fingers, Friar's Cowl, Gentlemen-and- 

 Ladies, Gethsemane, Jack-in- Box, Kings and Queens, Lady's Fingers, 

 Lamb-in-a-pulpit, Lamb Lakins, Lily-grass, Lords and Ladies, Man- 

 drake, Nightingales, Parson and Clerk or Parson- in- the- Pulpit, Parson, 

 Pillicods, Pintle Wort, Priest's Pintle, Quaker's Rampe, Ramps, Ram's 

 Horn, Schoolmaster, Snake's Food or Snake's Meat, Snake's Victuals, 

 Starch-root, Starch Wort, Wake Pintle, Wake Robin, Wild Lily. 



The red berries are men and the green women, hence Devil's 

 Men-and-Women. Holme says: "This is of some called Frier's 

 Cowle because of the hooding of the pestle, when it is springing 

 forth." The light spadices represent ladies, the dark gentlemen, hence 

 Ladies-and-Gentlemen and Lords and Ladies, Adam-and-Eve, Bulls- 

 and-Cows; but as to the first, Holloway quaintly says: "So called, I 

 presume, from the stately appearance the blossom has by being 

 partially enclosed and protected by the sheath, so that the flower 

 appears as though it were a kind of state chair or carriage." 



The spadices are like bobbins in use formerly in Bucks, hence the 

 name Bobbins. 



" Where peep the gaping speckled Cuckoo flowers, 

 Prizes to rambling schoolboys' vacant hours." 



As it was supposed to be associated with the evil one it was also 

 called Devil's Ladies-and-Gentlemen. The spots were ascribed to 

 drops of blood from the Cross. Half-starved bears, after hibernating, 

 are said to be restored by eating it, and its juice was thought to be 

 good for the plague. 



The root is insipid and mucilaginous, but pungent afterwards. It 

 loses the bitter taste when dry, and the roots are farinaceous, and were 

 formerly used as Portland Starch, but it is difficult to remove the 

 poisonous principle and is not much used. It is stimulating and dia- 

 phoretic. The root has been used for soap and juice for cosmetics, 

 cypress powder. It has been applied for asthma and dropsy. 



ESSENTIAL SPECIFIC CHARACTERS: 



311. Arum maculatum, L. Scape with leaves sheathed at the 

 base on long petioles, leaves sagittate, spotted, flower in spathe twice 

 as long as the spadix, which is clavate, berries scarlet. 



