HABITS AND LATIN NAMES OF BRITISH PLANTS. 
129 
ropes), though other plants procurable at less hazard, as Salicornia and Aster , 
are frequently substituted. It is, likewise, eaten raw as a salad. 
Crocus. —From xpoxv, a thread ; from the conspicuous filaments of the stamens ; 
or, according to fabulous history, from the youth Crocus, who was consumed by 
an ardent passion for Smilax, and metamorphosed into this flaming flower— 
“ Et Crocon in parvos versum cum Smilace flores prcctereoE 
Ov. Met ., lib. 4. 
Crocus sativus , Common or Autumnal Saffron, Saffron Crocus.—The summit of 
the pistils ( Stigmata Croci , P/iarm. Lond ., sometimes called chives), carefully 
collected and moderately dried, are the Saffron of the shops. It affords a beau¬ 
tiful colour to water, wine, or spirit, and gives out the whole of its virtues to 
either. Dryden compares the tint it communicates to the daw r n of day— 
“Now when the rosy mom began to rise, 
And wav’d the Saffron streamer through the skies.” 
Cryptogramma. —From xpvi ttos, covered, and ypxpgx, a line; from the concealed 
lines of the sori. 
Cryptogramma crispta , Rock Brake, Stone Fern, Crisped Fern, or Parsley 
Fern.— Southey calls this plant the “ Mountain Parsley,” an appellation which 
well expresses its tender habit, its delicate, lively colour, and its numerous, 
finely-cut, and crisped leaves. Covering large patches, as it sometimes does on 
the tops of rocky mountains, it adds a bright gleam of verdure and of beauty to 
its romantic but barren dwelling-place, and becomes an oasis of rich fertility upon 
the precipitous face of a sterile rock. 
Cuscuta .—-According to Linnaeus a corruption from the Greek nxcrvlx?, or 
kxc iJU<r, which is from the Arabic Chessuth , or Chasuth. 
Cuscuta Europoea , Greater Dodder, Hellweed.—The Dodder germinates in 
the earth, and rising above it, shoots out filiform stems, which twine around the 
neighbouring plants, when its original root decays. These small tubercles may 
be considered as absorbing warts, performing at the same time the functions of 
an attaching fulcrum and of a nutritient absorbing organ. By degrees the 
longitudinal vessels of the stalk—which appear to have accompanied the vesicles 
—shoot forth from the extremities, and make their way into the foster-plant, by 
dividing the vessels, and insinuating themselves into the tenderest part of the 
stalk ; and so intimately are they united with it, that it is easier to break than 
to disengage them from it. 
Cyclamen. —From xvxXos, a circle : either on account of the round form of the 
leaves, or of the roots. Or from nv*\ocfy, to surround, on account of the spiral 
codings of its leaves and stalk. 
Cyclamen hederifolium , Ivy-leaved Cyclamen, or Sow-bread.—The leaves are 
beautifully variegated with dark and glaucous green; their under side paler and 
VOL. v.— no. xxxvi. 
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