308 FLORA DOMESTICA. 



NIGELLA. 



RANUNCULACE^E. POLYANJ1RIA PENTAGYNIA. 



Called also Fennel-flower. Nigella is a corruption of Nigrella, a 

 name given to this plant from the blackness of its seeds. It is also 

 familiarly called Gith; Bish op's- wort j Devil-in-a-bush ; St. Kathe- 

 rine's- flower ; Love-in-a-mist. French, la nielle Romaine [Roman 

 nigella] ; nielle des jardins [garden nigella] j cumin noir [black cu- 

 min] ; faux cumin [false cumin] ; toute epice [all-spice]. Italian,, 

 nigella Romana; nigella odorata; melantio; melantro ; both from 

 the Greek, and denoting the blackness of its seeds, like the Latin, 

 nigella ; scapigliato (dishevelled) ; fanciullacce (great clumsy girls) ; 

 streghe (witches) ; cominella (little cumin). 



THE kinds of Nigella most esteemed and cultivated in 

 English gardens are the double varieties of the Common, 

 and the Spanish species. They are annual plants : the 

 seeds may be sown in March, three or four in a middle- 

 sized pot. It may stand abroad, and the earth should be 

 kept tolerably moist. It will begin to flower in June or 

 July, and continue till September. The colour varies, but 

 is generally blue or white. 



OLEANDER 



NERIUM. 



APOCINE^E. PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA. 



Called also Rose-bay. French, laurier-rose ; le laurose commun; 

 le laurose d'Europe. Italian, rosa lauro ; oleandro ; nerio ; mazza di 

 S. Giuseppe [St. Joseph's staff] ; ammazza 1'asino [ass bane]. 



THE Oleanders are nearly allied to the Rhododendrons, 

 but are less hardy : the Common Oleander, indeed, bears 

 the name of Rhododendron also, though not belonging to 

 that genus. It grows by the side of streams, and by the 

 sea-shore, in the Levant, _the south of Europe, and in the 

 island of Crete, where it grows very large. 



