128 
HABITS AND LATIN NAMES OF BRITISH PLANTS. 
Cotyledon. — KolvXAv, from xolvXy, a cavity; so called by Dioscorides and 
Pliny, because its leaf is of a hollow and somewhat semi-orbicular form. 
Crambe. — From xpu^fios, dry, arid; because it usually grows in sandy or 
dry soils. 
Crambe maritima , Sea Cole wort, Cliff or Sea Kale.—The country people in 
the West of England have been, from time immemorial, in the practice of 
watching when the shoots and leaf-stalks begin to push up the sand and gravel 
in March and April, when they cut them off under ground, as is done in 
gathering Asparagus, and boil them as greens. It is now frequently cultivated 
in gardens, and blanched, and may readily be preserved from the severest cold 
by a covering of sand, or an inverted garden-pot, with litter. By forcing, it may 
be supplied for the table from November till May; and proves an excellent 
substitute for Asparagus; also a useful ingredient for soups. 
Cratcegus. —K gdlaiyos, from npoilos, strength; in allusion to the extreme hard¬ 
ness of the wood. 
Cratcegus oxyacantha , Hawthorn, White-thorn, May.—Few of our native 
plants present a more beautiful sight than a well-grown bush of Hawthorn, with 
its dense masses of white and fragrant flowers, backed by the shining dark green 
leaves. It is a most valuable plant for forming impenetrable, close, durable, and 
easily-raised fences, called quickset hedges, and it bears clipping to any extent. 
The timber of such plants as grow singly, and attain a tolerable size, is valued 
by the millwright and turner, and the roots by the cabinet-maker. A decoction 
of the bark yields a yellow dye, and with Copperas is used to dye black. The 
fruit or haws afford abundant food for small birds in hard Winters, when little 
else is to be obtained. There are several varieties cultivated in gardens, the most 
remarkable of which is the Glastonbury Thorn, which frequently blows twice a 
year, in May, and again in December or January. There is a tradition of this 
variety having sprung from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea, who, with his 
missionary companions, resolved there (at Glastonbury) to found the first 
Christian church in this land, stuck it into the ground, when it quickly put 
forth branches and blossoms. When old, the Hawthorn frequently becomes 
nearly covered with Mosses and Lichens, especially the grey Lichens. Such a 
Thorn Wordsworth has beautifully described with his usual simplicity. 
Crepis. —From xpsvts, a shoe; the blossom bearing some resemblance to the 
form of a slipper. 
Crithmum. — KpiQ^ov, from k/j/vw, to secrete, from its supposed virtues; or from 
KpiOvi, Barley : the seeds somewhat resemble that grain. 
Crithmum maritimum , Rock Samphire, Sea Samphire.—It is detersive in 
quality, warm and aromaticr in flavour, and is much sought after for pickling, 
sometimes at the risk of human life (men being suspended from the rocks by 
