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271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
68
A
species
of
fungus,
known
with
us
as
"witches'
butter,"
is
called
in
Sweden
"devil's
butter,"
while
one
of
the
popular
names
for
the
mandrake
is
"devil's
food."
The
hare-parsley
supplies
him
with
oatmeal,
and
the
stichwort
is
termed
in
the
West
of
England
"devil's
corn."
Among
further
plants
associated
with
his
Satanic
majesty
may
be
enumerated
the
garden
fennel,
or
love-in-a-mist,
to
which
the
name
of
"devil-in-a-bush"
has
been
applied,
while
the
fruit
of
the
deadly
nightshade
is
commonly
designated
"devil's
berries."
Then
there
is
the
"devil's
tree,"
and
the
"devil's
dung"
is
one
of
the
nicknames
of
the
assafoetida.
The
hawk-weed,
like
the
scabious,
was
termed
"devil's
bit,"
because
the
root
looks
as
if
it
had
been
bitten
off.
According
to
an
old
legend,
"the
root
was
once
longer,
until
the
devil
bit
away
the
rest
for
spite,
for
he
needed
it
not
to
make
him
sweat
who
is
always
tormented
with
fear
of
the
day
of
judgment."
Gerarde
further
adds
that,
"The
devil
did
bite
it
for
envy,
because
it
is
an
herb
that
hath
so
many
great
virtues,
and
is
so
beneficial
to
mankind."
A
species
of
ranunculus
supplies
his
coach-wheels,
and
in
some
parts
of
the
country
ferns
are
said
to
supply
his
brushes.
His
majesty's
wants,
therefore,
have
been
amply
provided
for
by
the
vegetable
kingdom,
for
even
the
wild
garlic
affords
him
a
posy[8].
Once
more,
in
Sweden,
a
rose-coloured
flower,
known
as
"Our
Lady's
hand,"
"has
two
roots
like
hands,
one
white,
the
other
black,
and
when
both
are
placed
in
water
the
black
one
will
sink,
this
is
called
'Satan's
hand;'
but
the
white
one,
called
'Mary's
hand,'
will
float."[9]
Hence
this
flower
is
held
in
deep
and
superstitious
veneration
among
the
peasantry;
and
in
Crete
the
basil
is
considered
an
emblem
of
the
devil,
and
is
placed
on
most
window-ledges,
no
doubt
as
a
charm.
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