HERB ROBERT 



in full sunlight, a plant with rather large, divided and 

 decorative leaves, small rose-pink flowers, and the 

 entire plant — stem and leaves and fruit — more or less 

 suffused with red. This is Herb Robert, a naturalized 



Herb Robert. Gerdnium robertidnum 



Geranium, which has made its way from the Atlantic 

 coast half across the continent. 



Its common name. Herb Robert, is a puzzle to 

 botanists. There are tales of its efficiency as a med- 

 icine for Robert, Duke of Normandy, also that it 

 was at one time dedicated to a saint, but Edward 

 Step in ''Romance of Wild Flowers" explains the 

 name Robert as an example of interchange of mean- 

 ing. He says the redness of the plant caused the 

 country people to give it the name Robwort, that is, 

 Redwort, and in course of time the " w " disappeared in 

 pronunciation, leaving it Rob'ort to puzzle a later 

 generation who spelled it Robert and wondered if 



lOI 



