16 A REMINDER TO PLANT TO HELP 



"Flow'rs over all the field, of every hue 

 That ever Iris wore, luxuriant grew." 



Cowper: Elegy III, trans, from Milton. 



Anciently her name was given to this genus on account of the 

 bright and varied colors of its flowers whence one of its names, 

 "The Rainbow Flower." 



"Nor Iris in her glorious rainbow clothed 

 So fulgent as the cheerful gardens shine 

 With their bright offspring, when they're in their bloom." 

 Columella: De Rustica X. 



Named for the celestial messenger, in flower language the Iris 

 signifies "a message," or "a messenger," or sometimes "ardor" 

 or "my compliments." 



"To France, sweet Suffolk: let me hear from thee; 

 For whereso'er thou art in this world's globe, 

 I'll have an Iris that shall find thee out." 



Shakespeare: 2 King Henry VI. 



The goldfen device which was on the flag of royal France as 

 far back as, at least, the latter part of the fifth century, wjien 

 Clovis the First was King of France, is claimed by some to have 

 been modeled after the Iris, and by some, after the lily, and by 

 others, that it is a mere arbitrary design. A story runs that 

 Clovis having taken a vow, when his army was hard pressed in 

 battle, that he would be baptized if successful, an angel brought 

 from heaven this token of favor representing the triune Deity. 

 At first the figures were sprinkled over the surface and of no fixed 

 number, but in the reign of Charles V, about the middle of the 

 fourteenth century, they were reduced to three, the mystical 

 church number. They have been frequently referred to as the 

 "Lilies of France," and from its resemblance to them, it is said, 

 the Iris was called "Fleur-de-lis," Flower of the Lily. Such use 

 of "Lily" instead of "Iris", either through ignorance or disre- 

 gard of the botanical distinction, was formerly not uncommon. 

 Thus: 



"What flower in meadow-ground or garden grows 

 That to the towering Lily doth not yield? 



