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271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
137
Coming
down
to
modern
times,
we
find
the
periwinkle,
nicknamed
"death's
flower,"
scattered
over
the
graves
of
children
in
Italy--notably
Tuscany--and
in
some
parts
of
Germany
the
pink
is
in
request
for
this
purpose.
In
Persia
we
read
of:--
"The
basil-tuft
that
waves
Its
fragrant
blossoms
over
graves;"
And
among
the
Chinese,
roses,
the
anemone,
and
a
species
of
lycoris
are
planted
over
graves.
The
Malays
use
a
kind
of
basil,
and
in
Tripoli
tombs
are
adorned
with
such
sweet
and
fragrant
flowers
as
the
orange,
jessamine,
myrtle,
and
rose.
In
Mexico
the
Indian
carnation
is
popularly
known
as
the
"flower
of
the
dead,"
and
the
people
of
Tahiti
cover
their
dead
with
choice
flowers.
In
America
the
Freemasons
place
twigs
of
acacia
on
the
coffins
of
brethren.
The
Buddhists
use
flowers
largely
for
funeral
purposes,
and
an
Indian
name
for
the
tamarisk
is
the
"messenger
of
Yama,"
the
Indian
God
of
Death.
The
people
of
Madagascar
have
a
species
of
mimosa,
which
is
frequently
found
growing
on
the
tombs,
and
in
Norway
the
funeral
plants
are
juniper
and
fir.
In
France
the
custom
very
largely
nourishes,
roses
and
orange-blossoms
in
the
southern
provinces
being
placed
in
the
coffins
of
the
young.
Indeed,
so
general
is
the
practice
in
France
that,
"sceptics
and
believers
uphold
it,
and
statesmen,
and
soldiers,
and
princes,
and
scholars
equally
with
children
and
maidens
are
the
objects
of
it."
Again,
in
Oldenburg,
it
is
said
that
cornstalks
must
be
scattered
about
a
house
in
which
death
has
entered,
as
a
charm
against
further
misfortune,
and
in
the
Tyrol
an
elder
bush
is
often
planted
on
a
newly-made
grave.
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