The Folk-lore of Plants

"'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."