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271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
64
CHAPTER
VI.
PLANTS
IN
DEMONOLOGY.
The
association
of
certain
plants
with
the
devil
forms
an
extensive
and
important
division
in
their
folk-lore,
and
in
many
respects
is
closely
connected
with
their
mystic
history.
It
is
by
no
means
easy
always
to
account
for
some
of
our
most
beautiful
flowers
having
Satanic
surroundings,
although
frequently
the
explanation
must
be
sought
in
their
poisonous
and
deadly
qualities.
In
some
cases,
too,
the
student
of
comparative
mythology
may
trace
their
evil
reputation
to
those
early
traditions
which
were
the
expressions
of
certain
primitive
beliefs,
the
survivals
of
which
nowadays
are
found
in
many
an
apparently
meaningless
superstition.
Anyhow,
the
subject
is
a
very
wide
one,
and
is
equally
represented
in
most
countries.
It
should
be
remembered,
moreover,
that
rudimentary
forms
of
dualism--the
antagonism
of
a
good
and
evil
deity[1]--have
from
a
remote
period
occupied
men's
minds,
a
system
of
belief
known
even
among
the
lower
races
of
mankind.
Hence,
just
as
some
plants
would
in
process
of
time
acquire
a
sacred
character,
others
would
do
the
reverse.
Amongst
the
legendary
stories
and
folktales
of
most
countries
we
find
frequent
allusion
to
the
devil
as
an
active
agent
in
utilising
various
flowers
for
his
mischievous
pursuits;
and
on
the
Continent
we
are
told
of
a
certain
evil
spirit
named
Kleure
who
transforms
himself
into
a
tree
to
escape
notice,
a
superstition
which
under
a
variety
of
forms
still
lingers
here
and
there.[2]
It
would
seem,
too,
that
in
some
of
our
old
legends
and
superstitions
the
terms
Puck
and
Devil
are
synonymous,
a
circumstance
which
explains
the
meaning,
otherwise
unintelligible,
of
many
items
of
plant-lore
in
our
own
and
other
countries.
Thus
the
word
"Puck"
has
been
identified
with
Pogge--toad,
under
which
form
the
devil
was
supposed
to
be
personified;
and
hence
probably
originated
such
expressions
as
toadstools,
paddock-stools,
&c.
The
thorns
of
the
eglantine
are
said
to
point
downwards,
because
when
the
devil
was
excluded
from
heaven
he
tried
to
regain
his
lost
position
by
means
of
a
ladder
composed
of
its
thorns.
But
when
the
eglantine
was
only
allowed
to
grow
as
a
bush,
out
of
spite
he
placed
its
thorns
in
their
present
eccentric
position.
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