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271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
190
"'Tis
as
much
impossible,
Unless
we
sweep
them
from
the
doors
with
cannons,
To
scatter
'em,
as
'tis
to
make
'em
sleep
On
May
Day
morning."
Accordingly,
flowers
were
much
in
demand,
many
being
named
from
the
month
itself,
as
the
hawthorn,
known
in
many
places
as
May-bloom
and
May-tree,
whereas
the
lily
of
the
valley
is
nicknamed
May-lily.
Again,
in
Cornwall
lilac
is
termed
May-flower,
and
the
narrow-leaved
elm,
which
is
worn
by
the
peasant
in
his
hat
or
button-hole,
is
called
May.
Similarly,
in
Germany,
we
find
the
term
May-bloom
applied
to
such
plants
as
the
king-cup
and
lily
of
the
valley.
In
North
America,
says
the
author
of
"Flower-lore,"
the
podophyllum
is
called
"May-apple,"
and
the
fruit
of
the
Passiflora
incarnata
"May-hops."
The
chief
uses
of
these
May-flowers
were
for
the
garlands,
the
decoration
of
the
Maypole,
and
the
adornment
of
the
home:--
"To
get
sweet
setywall
(red
valerian),
The
honeysuckle,
the
harlock,
The
lily,
and
the
lady-smock,
To
deck
their
summer
hall."
But
one
plant
was
carefully
avoided--the
cuckoo
flower.[3]
As
in
other
floral
rites,
the
selection
of
plants
varies
on
the
Continent,
branches
of
the
elder
being
carried
about
in
Savoy,
and
in
Austrian
Silesia
the
Maypole
is
generally
made
of
fir.
According
to
an
Italian
proverb,
the
universal
lover
is
"one
who
hangs
every
door
with
May."
Various
plants
are
associated
with
Whitsuntide,
and
according
to
Chaucer,
in
his
"Romaunt
of
the
Rose":--
"Have
hatte
of
floures
fresh
as
May,
Chapelett
of
roses
of
Whitsunday,
For
sich
array
be
costeth
but
lite."
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