Rattle Grass is said to instantly kill Horses who unfortunately
eat it. The Indians call the Oleander Horse’s Death, and they
name several plants after different parts of the Horse. In con-
nec5tion with Horses, we must not forget to mention the Moonwort,
which draws the nails out of the Horses’ shoes, and of which
Culpeper writes: “ Moonwort is an herb which they say will open
locks and unshoe such Horses as tread upon it; this some laugh
to scorn, and those no small fools neither; but country people that
I know, call it Unshoe-the-Horse. Besides, I have heard commanders
say that, on White Down, in Devonshire, near Tiverton,
there were found thirty horse-shoes, pulled off from the Earl of
Essex’s horses, being then drawn up in a body, many of them
being newly shod, and no reason known, which caused much
admiration, and the herb described usually grows upon heaths.”
In Italy, the herb Sferracavallo is deemed to have the power of unshoeing
Horses out at pasture. The Mouse-ear, or Herba clavorum,
is reputed to prevent blacksmiths hurting horses when being shod.
The Scythians are said to have known a plant, called Hippice,
which, when given to a Horse, would enable him to travel for some
corfsiderable time without suffering either from hunger or thirst.
Perhaps this is the Water Pepper, which, according to English
tradition, has the same effect if placed under the saddle.
The humble Hedgehog has suggested the name of Hedgehog
Parsley for Caucalis daucoides, on account of its prickly burs.
In a previous chapter, a full description has been given of
the Barometz, that mysterious plant of Tartary, immortalised by
Darwin as the Vegetable Lamb. From the shape of its leaf, the
Plantago media has gained the name of Lamb’s Tongue ; from its
downy flowers, the Anthyllis vulneraria is called Lamb’s Toe ;
either from its being a favourite food of Lambs, or because it
appears at the lambing season, the Valerianella olitoria is known
as Lamb’s Lettuce; and the Atriplex patula is called Lamb’s
Quarters.
The Leopard has given its name to the deadly Doronicum
Pardalianches (from the Greek Pardalis, a Leopard, and ancho, to
strangle) ; hence our name of Leopard’s Bane, because it was
reputed to cause the death of any animal that ate it, and it was
therefore formerly mixed with flesh to destroy Leopards.
The Lion, according to Gerarde, claimed several plants. The
Alchemilla' vulgaris, from its leaf resembling his foot, was called
Lion’s Foot or Paw; a plant, called Leontopetalon by the Greeks,
was known in England as Lion’s Turnip or Lion’s L e a f; and two
kinds of Cndweeà, Leontopodium and L . parvum, hove the name of
Lion’s Cudweed, from their flower-heads resembling a Lion’s foot.
The Leontopodium has been identified with the Gnaphalium Alpinum,
the Filago stellata, the Edelweiss of the Germans, and the Perlière
des Alpes of the French. De Gubernatis points out that, inasmuch
as the Lion represents the Sun, the plants bearing the Lion’s name
I
are essentially plants of the Sun. This is particularly noticeable in
the case of the Dandelion {Dent de Lion) or Lion’s Tooth. In
Geneva, Switzerland, children form a chain of these flowers, and
holding it in their hands, dance in a circle ; a German name for it
it is Sonneswirbel (Solstice), as well as Solsequium heliotropium. The
Romans saw in the flower of the Helianthus a resemblance to a
Lion’s mouth. In the Orobanche or Broom Rape (the Sonnenwurz,
Root of the Sun, of the Germans) some have seen the resemblance
to a Lion’s mouth and foot ; it was called the Lion’s Pulse or
Lion’s Herb, and was considered an antidote to poison.
The tiny Mouse, like the majestic Lion, is represented in the
vegetable kingdom by several plants. From the shape of the
leaves, Hieracium Pilosella is known as Mouse Ear, Gerastium vulgare,
Mouse Ea r Chickweed, and Myosotis palustris, or Forget-Me-Not,
Mouse E a r Scorpion Grass. Myosurus minimus, from the shape of
its slender seed-spike, is called Mouse Tail ; and Alopecurus agrestis.
Mouse Tail Grass. Hordeum marinum is Mouse Barley.
Swine plants are numerous. We have the Swine Bane, Sow
Bane, or Pig Weed [Chenopodium rubrum), a herb which, according
to Parkinson, was “ found certain to kill Swine.” The Pig Nut
{Bunium fiexuosum) is so called from its tubers being a favourite food
of Pigs. Sow Bread {Cyclamen Furopoeum) has obtained its name
for a similar reason ; and Swine’s Grass {Polygonum aviculare) is so
called because Swine are believed to be fond of it. Hyoseris minima
is Swine Succory, and Senebiera Coronopus, Swine’s Cress. For
possession of the Dandelion, the Pig enters the lists with the Lion,
and claims the flower as the Swine’s Snout, on account of the form
of its receptacle. According to Du Bartas, Swine, when affected
with the spleen, seek relief by eating the Spleenwort or Miltwaste
{Asplénium Céterach),
“ The Finger-Fern, which being given to Swine,
It makes their milt to melt away in fine.”
De Gubernatis states that the god Indra» is thought to have
taken the form of a Goat, and he gives a long list of Indian plants
named after Sheep and Goats. The Ram, He-Gqat, and Lamb,
called Mesha, also give their names, in Sanscrit, to different
plants. In England, Pumex Acetosella is Sheep’s Sorrel, Chcerophyllum
temulum Sheep’s Parsley, Jasione montana Sheep’s-Bit-Scabious, and
Hydrocotyle vulgaris, or White Rot, Sheep’s Bane, from its character
of poisoning Sheep.
The Squirrel, although a denizen of the woods, only claims
one plant, Hordeum maritimum, which, from the shape of its flower-
spike, has obtained the name of Squirrel Tail.
The Elephant has a whole series of Indian trees and plants
dedicated to him, which are enumerated by De Gubernatis; the
Bignonia suaveolens is called the Elephant’s Tree; and certain
Cucumbers, Pumpkins, and Gourds are named after him.