aware, not to be met with in ornamental art, is a plant in every way
fitted for the purposes of the designer, whether we consider the form of
the flower, of the pods which succeed the blossoms, or the rich outline
of the leaf. The inflorescence is umbellate (Lat. _umbella_, an
umbrella), that is to say, all the flower-stalks start from the same
point in the stem, as in the case of the hemlock, the cowslip, flowering
rush, and many other plants. _Chelidonium_ is derived from the Greek
word _chelidon_, a swallow, from an old belief that the plant came into
flower on the arrival of those birds, and withered when they took their
departure; hence in old writings we frequently find the Celandine termed
swallow-wort. The plant will commonly be found in waste places, and more
especially near human habitations. It attains to a height of about two
feet, and flowers throughout May, June, July, and August. Consult S. B.
95; E. B. 67; M. B. 263; S. C. 86, for drawings of the natural growth of
the celandine.
The CINQUEFOIL (_Potentilla reptans_). This graceful little plant may
generally be met with in abundance, a very favourite habitat being in
the low grass and coarse herbage we so frequently find skirting the
pathways in country districts. When it has once taken root upon any
favourable spot, it speedily throws out long running stems, which, in
turn, develop roots from the points whence the leaves spring; in a very
short space of time a large extent of ground is covered with a dense
mass of the plant, and, from its habit of rooting at each joint, it is
with great difficulty eradicated, since if one root alone be overlooked,
the labour spent will speedily prove to have been but of little more
than temporary use. Regarding the cinquefoil, however, rather from the
stand-point of the ornamentist than of the agriculturist, we are struck
by the beauty of its growth, the forms of the individual parts, and the
general fitness of the plant for employment in Decorative art. The
familiar name cinquefoil clearly alludes to the division of the leaves
into five conspicuous leaflets, though when the plant is growing under
exceptionably favourable circumstances these are very frequently seven
in number. The generic name is derived from the Latin _potens_,
powerful, and refers to the strong medicinal qualities possessed by some
of the species of _Potentilla_. The root of the tormentil (_P.
tormentilla_), an allied species, is very powerfully astringent; it has
occasionally been substituted for oak-bark in tanning, and with equal
success, the leather being found to be in
[Illustration: _Cinquefoil._]
no way inferior in quality. The properties possessed by the roots of the
cinquefoil are very similar, but, from being less powerful in their
operation, are now rarely used, their value being naturally greater at a
time when stronger foreign astringents were not so readily procurable.
Tormentil root is still, however, retained in the Pharmacopœia. The
distinctive specific name of the present plant, _reptans_, has evident
allusion to the marked feature in its growth already referred to, being
derived from the Latin _reptare_, to creep. We are not aware of any
examples of the use of the cinquefoil in the art of any past period,
though from the size and beauty of form of the leaves and blossoms, and
from the grace and freedom of the curves of which the main stem is
capable, it appears to be well adapted to ornamental art. Refer to E. B.
432; F. L. vol. i. 37; M. B. 59; and P. F. 46, for the natural growth.
COCKLE. This, though now so frequently met with in the midst of the
corn, being in fact so common as to be classed amongst the farmer’s
pests, is not an indigenous plant; it has, however, been established so
long that it may very fairly be comprehended in our list. The botanical
name of the plant is _Lychnis githago_. The whole plant is closely
covered with soft hairs, giving it a woolly appearance. The large purple
flowers are very conspicuous, and have a curious effect, from the
segments of the calyx being so much longer than the petals of the
corolla. (_Calyx_, Gr., a cup, the outer and generally green portions of
a flower, the protecting member for the delicate organs within the
flower. When the calyx is cut up into several divisions each segment is
termed a _sepal_. _Corolla_, the floral ring next within the calyx,
ordinarily of a brilliant colour, the part which, for instance, in a
rose is pink: this, though sometimes in one piece, as in a blue-bell, is
ordinarily, as in the buttercup, composed of several similar members;
these are called _petals_.) The cockle will be found in flower during
the months of June, July, and August. Though admirably adapted for
service in ornamental art, the only example we can quote occurs in a
sixteenth-century MS., a missal, in the British Museum: the treatment is
very naturalistic. Drawings of the plant will be found in F. L. vol.
iii. 27; E. B. 215.
COLUMBINE (_Aquilegia vulgaris_), one of our most beautiful wild
flowers, derives, like the broom, an additional importance to the
ornamentist from its heraldic associations, the columbine being adopted
as a badge by the House of Lancaster, and also by the Derby family at a
time when every important house adopted some such symbol. The petals
bear a strong resemblance to birds; hence _Aquilegia_ is derived from
the Latin _aquila_, an eagle, while the English name is derived from
Lat. _columba_, a dove. An old English name for the plant is culverwort,
_culfre_ being the Anglo-Saxon word for pigeon. It will be found in
hedges and thickets, thriving more especially where the soil is
calcareous. Both the flower and leaf are very rich in character, and
well suited for the requirements of ornamental art. Examples may be seen
in the church of Shearbourne, Dorset, and in the spandrels of the canopy
of a brass in Exeter Cathedral, in memory of Sir Peter Courteney, one of
the adherents of the Lancastrian king, Henry IV. The columbine is a
favourite flower in cottage-gardens, and may be much more generally thus
met with than as a wild plant. It is in flower from May to July. A very
beautiful gradation of form is seen in the leaves, the lower ones being
of a very complex form, while the upper ones are very simple in outline.
Refer to E. B. 46, V. W. 367, for drawings.
The COMFREY (_Symphytum officinale_). This plant may be very commonly
found by the sides of streams, ditches, and other moist
[Illustration: _Comfrey._]
situations. The corolla of the flower is generally of a yellowish white,
but a variety having purple flowers is not uncommon in many localities;
we have seen it, for instance, growing in profusion on the banks of the
East Yar, between Brading and Sandown, in the Isle of Wight. The generic
name, _Symphytum_ is derived from a Greek verb signifying to unite, from
an old belief in the efficacy of the Comfrey in the healing of wounds.
A very marked peculiarity in the growth of the plant is the circinate,
or, as it is frequently termed, scorpoid arrangement of the flowers,
from a supposed resemblance between the spiral form of the inflorescence
and the tail of the scorpion; hence, in the same way, scorpion-grass is
one of the old English names of the familiar forget-me-not, a plant
belonging to the same natural order, the _Boraginaceæ_, and having the
same peculiarity of growth. We need scarcely say that in the Middle Ages
the favourite dogma that each plant had its undoubted value as a
remedial agent, and generally by its form or colour indicated its
medicinal use, was firmly held; thus the colour and shape of the flower
of the foxglove, formerly called the throatwort, were considered as
indications of its service in complaints affecting the throat, as its
older name implies; and the deep red colour often assumed, as the summer
advances, by the leaves of the herb-robert and others of the cranesbill
family, was deemed conclusive proof of the value of the plants in
stanching the flow of blood from a wound; hence, in the case of the
forget-me-not, we find an old writer on medicine referring to the
healing virtues of the plant as shown by its mode of growth: “The whole
branche of floures do turne themselves round like the taile of the
scorpion. The leaves of scorpion-grass applied to the place are a
present remedy against the stinging of scorpions, and likewise boyled in
wine and drunke, prevaile against the said bitings, as also of adders,
snakes, and such venomous beasts.” Drawings of the comfrey may be seen
on referring to F. L. vol. iv. 18; V. W. 432.
The FIELD CONVOLVULUS (_Convolvulus arvensis_). This pretty little plant
is very commonly found on grassy banks, open downs, or in our
corn-fields, running up the stems of the standing corn, and flowering
during June, July, and August. It is one of the enemies of the farmer,
from its spreading, to the detriment of the crops, over so large an area
of ground; and owing to the great depth to which the roots descend, it
is exceedingly difficult to get rid of it when it has once taken
possession. Its generic name, derived from the Latin _convolvo_, I
entwine, is very descriptive of the nature of the plant, and its English
name, bindweed, evidently embodies the same idea. Another of its old
English names, the withwinde, very beautifully expresses its lightness
and delicacy, unable to resist the force of the wind, but conquering by
yielding to its power. Where the plant occurs, it will generally be very
common, many square feet of ground being often covered by its long
trailing stems. When any suitable object, such as a grass stem, is met
with, the convolvulus, too weak to rise by itself, ceases to trail along
the ground, and twines round the support thus afforded, always ascending
in a spiral direction to the left, as do also the _C. major_ of the
flower-garden, the scarlet-runner bean, and many others; while others,
as the hop, invariably ascend in a spiral direction from left to right.
It may at first sight seem difficult to establish this, but if the
reader will imagine the plant in question turning round his own body, he
will at once be able to determine whether the plant in ascending would
cross in front of him from right to left, or from left to right. In
introducing this plant in ornament, it will be
[Illustration: _Convolvulus._]
[Illustration: _Convolvulus._]
necessary to remember, that though frequently represented as possessing
tendrils, it does not in nature acquire the needed support by such
means, the stalk itself being the part of the plant that entwines round
other plants. The means thus employed by climbing plants are very
varied; the ivy, for instance, throwing out root-like forms from the
stems, which, by their grasp and penetration into the hollows of
brickwork or the bark of other trees, amply suffice to support the
plant; the bryony, passion-flower, and many other plants throw out true
tendrils from the stem; the goose-grass clings by means of the small
hook-like appendages with which the stems and under sides of the leaves
are furnished; while in the pea the tendrils spring from the end of the
leaf-petiole. The _C. arvensis_, like the silver-weed, the pimpernel,
and many other equally familiar plants, seem to be cosmopolitan. De
Candolle, in his “Géographie Botanique,” records its occurrence in a
truly indigenous state in localities so widely differing in temperature,
soil, &c., as Sweden, Siberia, China, India, Persia, Arabia, Egypt,
Abyssinia, New Holland, Mauritius, the Azores, Canada, Mexico, and
Chili. The only instances of the use of the plant in mediæval ornament
with which we are acquainted are in wood-carving on the ends of the
stalls in Wells Cathedral, and in a similar position in the Church of
St. Gereon, Cologne; in each case the leaves only are represented.
Illustrations of the natural growth will be seen in S. B. 166; E. B.
923; T. N. O. 97; and P. F. 93.
The CORN BLUE-BOTTLE (_Centaurea Cyanus_) from its delicacy of growth,
and the beauty of the flower-heads, would be a valuable plant for the
decoration of surfaces requiring a delicate treatment, such as muslins
and lace. It is one of the characteristic flowers of the corn-field,
and, in conjunction with the poppy, would be valuable in any floral
grouping symbolic of autumn. The plant was at one time held to possess
great remedial virtue, though its use is now abandoned. The generic
name, _Centaurea_, refers to an old legend that the Centaur Chiron, when
wounded by Hercules, recovered his strength by the use of this herb. A
very characteristic name in some parts of the country is hurt-sickle,
in allusion to its hard and wiry stems. An example of its use in
ornamental art will be found in a sixteenth-century MS. in the Library
of the British Museum. The treatment, as is usual at that period of the
illuminator’s art, is very naturalistic. Drawings of the natural plant
may be seen in S. B. 159; E. B. 709; F. L. vol. vi. 62; and P. F. 8.
The CORN MARIGOLD (_Chrysanthemum segetum_) is, like the last, one of
the characteristic and striking plants of the harvest-field, the intense
scarlet of the poppy, the rich blue of the blue-bottle, and the
brilliant yellow of the present flower, forming a very beautiful trio.
The generic name, _Chrysanthemum_, alludes to this brilliancy of colour
seen in several of the species, being derived from two Greek words
signifying golden flower. There is considerable quaintness in the forms
of the leaves, and the general growth of the plant renders it well
adapted for art-treatment. We are unable to refer you to any examples of
its introduction in the ornament of the past, but any of our readers
desiring to remedy a neglect so unjustifiable will find reliable
drawings of it in E. B. 713; F. L. vol. vi. 60; P. F. 28.
The DAFFODIL (_Narcissus pseudo-narcissus_). This beautiful flower will
be found of value to the designer, both from its own inherent beauty,
and also more especially in combination with the primrose, wild
hyacinth, or cowslip, in any design where it is desirable to embody the
idea of spring, since it is one of the most striking plants of that
season of the year. The daffodil may be found in meadows and copses, and
is generally abundant throughout England, though in many cases probably
as an escape from the cottage-garden. In Ireland and Scotland it is
never met with except under such circumstances. Where the daffodil has
once established itself it grows with great freedom, and will generally
be met with in profusion, though it is so local in its growth, that even
if abundant in any one spot, it may frequently be sought for in vain
throughout the rest of a district. The flowers, of a pure and brilliant
yellow, grow singly upon the stalks, each rising directly from the root.
The daffodil has a very wide area of distribution, being met with
throughout the greater part of Europe, and more especially in the
south-west; it is, for instance, one of the characteristic plants of the
meadows and hillside pastures of Spain, together with the two-flowered
narcissus (_N. biflorus_), a plant which, though abundant in Southern
Europe, has never been naturalised in England. It may be frequently met
with in cultivation, and will easily be distinguished from the daffodil
from the flowers being generally in pairs upon the stem, and from their
creamy white or straw colour. The generic name, _Narcissus_, is derived
from a Greek word signifying stupor, in allusion to the heavy and
powerful odour of another species, the _N. poeticus_.
Drawings of the daffodil will be met with in E. B. 1501, and P. F. 89.
The daffodil being like the daisy and eglantine, what we may perhaps be
allowed to term a poet’s flower, a further reason for intimacy with it
is furnished to the designer, as he may possibly be required to make a
design for a page border to some _édition de luxe_ of Wordsworth or
Herrick.
The DAISY (_Bellis perennis_). So many rural and poetic associations
cluster around this “wee, modest, crimson-tipped flower,” that our list
would be sadly incomplete did it not find a place in it. Leaving the
consideration of these associations, however, we would desire to point
out that on its own inherent merits it is a plant admirably adapted for
art-work, the forms of the leaves, buds, and flowers being all very
ornamental in character, and well suited to the decoration of any light
fabric. The generic name, _Bellis_, testifies to the general
appreciation, being derived from the Lat. _bellus_, pretty. Daisy is a
corruption of its old English name, day’s eye.
“As soon as ever the sunne ginneth west
To sene this flower, how it will go to rest,
For fear of night, so hateth she darkness.
Well by reason men it call maie
The Daisie, or else the Eye of the Daie.”
In France it is called _Marguerite_, from Lat. _margarita_, a
pearl,--hence ladies of gentle birth, of that name, frequently chose it
in the days of chivalry as their device. It may be seen carved in stone
on the gateway of St. John’s College, Cambridge, founded by Margaret,
Countess of Richmond. It also occurs in carvings at Cubberley,
Gloucestershire; Coton, in Cambridgeshire; and Culham, in Oxfordshire.
“The daisie, or flower white and rede,
And in French called la belle Marguerite,
To herne I have so great affectioun
As I sayd erst, when comen is the Maie,
That in my bedde there dawneth me no daie
That I n’am up and walking in the mede
To see this floure ayenst the sunne sprede,
So glad am I, that when I have presence
Of it to doue it all reverence,
As she that is of all floures the floure,
Fulfilled of all vertue and honoure;
And ever ylike faire and fresh of hewe;
And ever I love it, and ever ylike newe.”
CHAUCER.
The family of Parr bore as one of their devices a tuft of daisies. The
daisy may be met with abundantly in pasture land and the grassy borders
of country roads, blooming freely from April to October. Illustrations
may be seen in E. B. 772; F. L. vol. i. 62; T. N. O. 76; P. F. 63.
The DOG-ROSE (_Rosa canina_). This is one of the commonest of our
numerous species of English wild rose--a family which, like the
brambles, willows, and others, has by some botanists been cut up into
several species from more or less obvious botanical marks, frequently of
a nature, however, which subjects them to be by other observers
considered as mere variations depending upon chance external influences;
thus, while one writer reduces the various rose forms to five specific
types, another, of equally high standing, mentions nineteen species as
occurring in Britain. This refinement of scientific observation will,
however, be of no real service to the designer: for his purpose the
dog-rose, the most familiar of our English species, may be accepted as a
fairly typical flower. The garden varieties of roses are derived from
the _Rosa sempervirens_ of Southern Europe, the _R. Indica_, an Asiatic
species, and many others. The sweet-briar, _R. rubiginosa_, one of our
wild English species, is also a favourite in many gardens from the
fragrance of its leaves when pressed in the hand. The
[Illustration: _Dog-Rose._]
word rose is derived, according to some authors, from the Celtic _rhos_,
which is in turn derived from the adjective _rhodd_, red; while others
affirm that it descends to us from the Latin _rosa_, itself deduced from
the Greek _rodon_, derived from _erythros_, red; but we are unable to
give any satisfactory clue to the meaning of the prefix “dog” in the
familiar English name, the same idea being also evidently expressed in
the specific word _canina_, in the French _rose de chien_, and the
German _Hundrose_. Some writers, however, imagine it to refer to the
uselessness of the plant, and quote the scentless or dog-violet as
another illustration in support of their theory. Even on the lowest
utilitarian ground this theory is scarcely tenable, since the plant is
largely used by gardeners as a stock for grafting, while the fruit is
also considerably employed in medicine. The rose, though commonly met
with in ornament throughout the whole of the Decorated and Perpendicular
periods of Gothic, is more especially found in the latter, since it was
then employed not merely on its own merits, but also as the badge of the
Tudors; hence, as an heraldic form, we frequently meet with it in
secular no less than in ecclesiastical work. It is also, we need
scarcely say, the badge of England, as the shamrock and thistle are of
Ireland and Scotland respectively. It was also the personal badge of
Edward I., and the family device of the De la Warres. Examples of the
heraldic use of the rose are very numerous; it may merely suffice to
mention Hampton Court and Henry VII.’s Chapel at Westminster as
abounding in illustrations. In the church at Hawton, Nottinghamshire, in
a sculptured representation of the Resurrection, there is as a
background a very elaborate and beautiful diaper of the rose--its
leaves, flowers, and buds being all employed; this, as the Rose of
Sharon, may be considered as introduced in a symbolic sense, though we
must here mention that the plant ordinarily known as the Rose of Sharon
is not a true rose at all botanically. It is one of the Hypericums. A
golden rose has from time to time been given by the popes to those whom
they more especially desired to reward for services rendered to the
Church: Henry VIII. of England received, together with his title
“Defender of the Faith,” this mark of honour from Pope Alexander VI. The
dog-rose will be found in flower in early summer, the colour of the
blossoms varying on different shrubs from pure white to a deep pink;
the brilliant scarlet fruit, an equally ornamental feature, being met
with as the season advances. Illustrations of the natural growth of the
plant will be seen in M. B. 139, S. C. 100, P. F. 7, 90, 96; and T. N.
O. 51.
Examples of its use in decorative art occur at Winchester, where a
hollow moulding is filled with a waved line of rose leaves and flowers;
in a boss in Beverley Minster; in a glass quarry at Yaxley, Suffolk; in
a more conventionalised treatment in a panel of Perpendicular period,
East Harling Church, Norfolk; a very good example as a glass quarry,
Milton Church, Cambridge; in a piece of oak-carving in the stalls at
Wells; in the carving of a tomb in Bourges Cathedral; a capital at
Miraflores; a hollow moulding wreathed with alternate flowers and leaves
in one of the doorways of Notre Dame, Paris. Many other instances might
be given, but these will suffice to show how favourite a plant the rose
has been in past ornament. The following extract from the old herbalist
Gerarde, though the adulation is, from its implied reference to
Elizabeth, somewhat fulsome, is a further illustration of its
association heraldically with the Tudors: “The plant of roses, though it
be a shrub full of prickles, yet it had bin more fit and convenient to
have placed it with the most glorious flowers of the world, than to
insert the same here among base and thorny shrubs” (this allusion refers
to Gerarde’s system of classification), “for the rose doth deserve the
chief and prime place among all flowers whatsoever, being not only
esteemed for his beauty, vertues, and his fragrant and odoriferous
smell, but also because it is the honour and ornament of our English
Scepter, in the uniting of those two most Royall Houses of Lancaster and
Yorke.”
[Illustration: _Feverfew._]
The subject of our next illustration is derived from the FEVERFEW
(_Chrysanthemum parthenium_), a plant widely distributed over Britain,
but at the same time with doubtful claims to be considered a true
native; it is, however, thoroughly at home in those places in which it
is to be met with, and from the clear white daisy-like flowers and the
delicate green of its handsome foliage it merits the attention of
designers of ornamental art. From its lightness and the deep cutting of
the leaves, the feverfew would be found of more service in painted or
engraved ornament than in any kind of relief work. The feverfew has a
reputation among herbalists as a bitter and tonic; and no doubt, before
the introduction of quinine and such-like more powerful remedies, would
possess a valued and considerable remedial virtue. The familiar English
name implies this, and is one of the numerous class of names, as
eyebright, goutweed, lungroot, livelong, wormwood, &c., given to plants
in recognition of their real or fancied medicinal use. Drawings of the
natural growth of the feverfew may be seen in E. B. 715; M. B. 249; P.
F. 39.