94 DICTIONARY OF POPULAR NAMES CARRION 



the shops as sweets for children. Carobs are considered to be 

 the " husks " spoken of in the New Testament as eaten by the 

 Prodigal Son, and the " Locusts " that St. John lived upon in 

 the Wilderness, hence the name St. John's Bread Tree. 



Carrion Flowers. — Many flowers possess a fetid odour. 

 In those of the genus Stapelia, belonging to the Swallowwort 

 family (Asclepiadaceae), the smell is similar to that of carrion, to 

 such a degree, indeed, that blue-bottle flies lay their eggs in 

 them. The members of the genus Stapelia, however, are very 

 interesting, and number about a hundred species, all (with 

 a few exceptions) being natives of South Africa; they con- 

 sist of succulent, erect, many - stemmed, leafless plants, not 

 exceeding 6 to 8 inches in height, the stems are four-sided, 

 generally toothed, and on some a very minute leaf may be some- 

 times seen. The flowers consist of five more or less succulent 

 petals, smooth or pilose, and of various sizes and colours, some 

 spotted and variegated ; and, even with their abominable odour, 

 are patronised in botanic gardens on account of their curious 

 and interesting structure. In America the name Camon Flower 

 is also given to Smilax herhacea. 



Carrot (JDaucus Carotd), a biennial of the Carrot family 

 (Umbelliferse), native of Britain; in its wild state it is found 

 growing by road-sides and in waste places, where it has a dry, 

 slender root, which is not edible, but it is generally believed 

 that the cultivated garden carrot originated from it. The hard 

 interior being the true root, the fleshy exterior part having been 

 brought about by cultivation. Besides being a culinary vege- 

 table it is also used for feeding cattle, and its juice is used for 

 colouring butter and cheese. 



Carrot, Deadly, a common name for the species of Thapsia, 

 a genus of the Carrot family (UmbellifercTe), of which about a 

 dozen species are recorded, but the identification of some is 

 not very satisfactory. They consist of strong-rooted perennial 

 herbs, attaining a height of 3 to 5 feet, with multiple fennel-like 

 leaves and large umbels of generally yellow flowers. They are 

 natives of countries on both sides of the Mediterranean ; most of 



