162 WILD FLOWERS. 



refers to its " yellow" colour. Medicinally, it has at 

 different times borne a variety of names, all indica- 

 tive of the esteem in which it was held : as Aurum 

 philosophorum, Aurum vegetabile, Rex vegetabi- 

 lium, Panacea vegetabilis, Sanguis Herculis, &c. 



There is another plant, called by us saff-flower, 

 which also produces a saffron ; though it is not a 

 crocus, but the carthamus tinctorius. Its flowers 

 give a yellow dye, and, by means of alkalis, the 

 bright reds and purples of China silks. It is a 

 native of Egypt, where it is called goortum (car- 

 thamus), and where an excellent oil is extracted 

 from its seeds. It is also grown in Europe, China, 

 and other places. 



The saffron crocus (G. sativus}, is certainly not 

 indigenous to England, though ordinarily considered 

 so in our " Floras." The purple spring crocus (G. 

 vernus) is so abundant in the meadows of Notting- 

 hamshire, that it actually makes the grass appear 

 purple when in blow. The pretty little purple crocus 

 (G. 'minimus) appears to be confined to one British 

 locality the park of Sir Henry Bunbury, at Barton, 

 in Suffolk. It is probably an outcast from garden 

 culture ; so also is the plant which accompanies it, 

 the golden crocus (G. aureus) ; and it is inconsistent 

 to retain in our " Flora " plants so well known to 

 have no claim to a place in it. A grave doubt also 

 hangs over the real habitat of the autumnal crocus 

 (G. speciosus), and the naked flower (G. nudiflorus.) 

 We have no right to claim any of these, and the 

 sooner botanists take " heart of grace " to express 

 their almost unanimous opinion on the subject, the 

 better for science and the cause of truth. 



