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271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
168
Many
plants,
again,
as
the
"Sesame"
of
the
"Arabian
Nights,"
had
the
power
of
opening
doors
and
procuring
an
entrance
into
caverns
and
mountain
sides--a
survival
of
which
we
find
in
the
primrose
or
key-flower
of
German
legend.
Similarly,
other
plants,
such
as
the
golden-rod,
have
been
renowned
for
pointing
to
hidden
springs
of
water,
and
revealing
treasures
of
gold
and
silver.
Such
fabulous
properties
have
been
also
assigned
to
the
hazel-branch,
popularly
designated
the
divining-rod:--
"Some
sorcerers
do
boast
they
have
a
rod,
Gather'd
with
vows
and
sacrifice,
And,
borne
aloft,
will
strangely
nod
The
hidden
treasure
where
it
lies."
With
plants
of
the
kind
we
may
compare
the
wonder-working
moonwort
(Botrychium
lunaria),
which
was
said
to
open
locks
and
to
unshoe
horses
that
trod
on
it,
a
notion
which
Du
Bartas
thus
mentions
in
his
"Divine
Weekes"--
"Horses
that,
feeding
on
the
grassy
hills,
Tread
upon
moonwort
with
their
hollow
heels,
Though
lately
shod,
at
night
go
barefoot
home,
Their
maister
musing
where
their
shoes
become.
O
moonwort!
tell
me
where
thou
bid'st
the
smith,
Hammer
and
pinchers,
thou
unshodd'st
them
with.
Alas!
what
lock
or
iron
engine
is't,
That
can
thy
subtle
secret
strength
resist,
Still
the
best
farrier
cannot
set
a
shoe
So
sure,
but
thou
(so
shortly)
canst
undo."
The
blasting-root,
known
in
Germany
as
spring-wurzel,
and
by
us
as
spring-wort,
possesses
similar
virtues,
for
whatever
lock
is
touched
by
it
must
yield.
It
is
no
easy
matter
to
find
this
magic
plant,
but,
according
to
a
piece
of
popular
folk-lore,
it
is
obtained
by
means
of
the
woodpecker.
When
this
bird
visits
its
nest,
it
must
have
been
previously
plugged
up
with
wood,
to
remove
which
it
goes
in
search
of
the
spring-wort.
On
holding
this
before
the
nest
the
wood
shoots
out
from
the
tree
as
if
driven
by
the
most
violent
force.
Meanwhile,
a
red
cloth
must
be
placed
near
the
nest,
which
will
so
scare
the
woodpecker
that
it
will
let
the
fabulous
root
drop.
There
are
several
versions
of
this
tradition.
According
to
Pliny
the
bird
is
the
raven;
in
Swabia
it
is
the
hoopoe,
and
in
Switzerland
the
swallow.
In
Russia,
there
is
a
plant
growing
in
marshy
land,
known
as
the
rasir-trava,
which
when
applied
to
locks
causes
them
to
open
instantly.
In
Iceland
similar
properties
are
ascribed
to
the
herb-paris,
there
known
as
lasa-grass.
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