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271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
70
"But
that
which
gave
more
wonder
than
the
rest,
Within
an
ash
a
serpent
built
her
nest
And
laid
her
eggs,
when
once
to
come
beneath
The
very
shadow
of
an
ash
was
death."
Gerarde
notices
this
curious
belief,
and
tells
us
that,
"the
leaves
of
this
tree
are
so
great
virtue
against
serpents
that
they
dare
not
so
much
as
touch
the
morning
and
evening
shadows
of
the
tree,
but
shun
them
afar
off."
Hence
ash-sap
was
a
German
remedy
for
serpent
bites.
Lucan,
in
his
"Pharsalia"
(915-921),
has
enumerated
some
of
the
plants
burned
for
the
purpose
of
expelling
serpents:
"Beyond
the
farthest
tents
rich
fires
they
build,
That
healthy
medicinal
odours
yield,
There
foreign
galbanum
dissolving
fries,
And
crackling
flames
from
humble
wallwort
rise.
There
tamarisk,
which
no
green
leaf
adorns,
And
there
the
spicy
Syrian
costos
burns;
There
centaury
supplies
the
wholesome
flame,
That
from
Therssalian
Chiron
takes
its
name;
The
gummy
larch
tree,
and
the
thapsos
there,
Woundwort
and
maidenweed
perfume
the
air,
There
the
long
branches
of
the
long-lived
hart
With
southernwood
their
odours
strong
impart,
The
monsters
of
the
land,
the
serpents
fell,
Fly
far
away
and
shun
the
hostile
smell."
The
smoke
of
the
juniper
was
equally
repellent
to
serpents,
and
the
juice
of
dittany
"drives
away
venomous
beasts,
and
doth
astonish
them."
In
olden
times,
for
serpent
bites,
agrimony,
chamomile,
and
the
fruit
of
the
bramble,
were
held
efficacious,
and
Gerarde
recommends
the
root
of
the
bugloss,
"as
it
keepeth
such
from
being
stung
as
have
drunk
it
before;
the
leaves
and
seeds
do
the
same."
On
the
other
hand,
some
plants
had
the
reputation
of
attracting
serpents,
one
of
these
being
the
moneywort
or
creeping
loosestrife,
with
which
they
were
said
to
heal
themselves
when
wounded.
As
far
back
as
the
time
of
Pliny
serpents
were
supposed
to
be
very
fond
of
fennel,
restoring
to
them
their
youth
by
enabling
them
to
cast
their
old
skins.
There
is
a
belief
in
Thuringia
that
the
possession
of
fern
seed
causes
the
bearer
to
be
pursued
by
serpents
till
thrown
away;
and,
according
to
a
curious
Eussian
proverb,
"from
all
old
trees
proceeds
either
an
owl
or
a
devil,"
in
reference,
no
doubt,
to
their
often
bare
and
sterile
appearance.
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