May — The Water Iris. 149 



XXVIII. 



Water Iris — The Royal Flower — Lychnis — Origin of the Name — The 

 Spurge Family— Bitter Reverie — A Poet's Botany — Use of Poets' 

 Fancies. 



OF other plants that show themselves in May it 

 would be easy to make a considerable catalogue. 

 There is the water iris, for example, which in this part 

 of the world has tall blades early in the month and 

 flowers towards the end of it, giving considerable mag- 

 nificence of color to the banks of streams. It is re- 

 markable amongst flowers as having been chosen by 

 the kings of France to decorate their shields and 

 banners, for in the middle ages it was called the lis. 

 This, at least, is the more probable view, considering 

 the form and color of the flower, though the popular 

 belief is that the large white lily is the royal flower of 

 the Bourbons. But the white lily bears no resemblance 

 to the fleur-de-lis, whereas the water iris curves out its 

 petals in such a way as to produce a very striking like- 

 ness to the heraldic flower. Besides this, the fleur-de-lis 

 is or in heraldry, and, without attaching too much im- 

 portance to the choice of the metal, one cannot but 

 think it likely that a sovereign who had felt pleased 

 with the white lily would have preserved the record of 

 its whiteness by blazoning it argent. For my part I 

 feel no doubt about the matter, and the golden flowers 



