Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1914-07-17
ALL ABOUT FLOWERS
Strange Legend in Connection
With Origin Of Plants.
Human Blood and Tears Often the
Tabled Souree--Red Flowers Spring
From the Former and White
From the Latter.

Human blood and tears are fire.
quently legendary sources Of plants.
remarks Suburban Life. AS gen
eral rule, red flowers spring from the
former and white from the latter.
Thus, the Greek tradition says that
the anemoRe sprang from the passion
ate tears Venus shed over the dead
body Of Adonis.
In Mexico marigolds are known as
death flowers" because, according to
a legend, the life blood Of those who
fell victims to the love Of gold and
cruelty of the early Spanish settlers.
Among the Virginian tribes, too, red
clover was supposed to have sprung
from and to be colored by the blood of
the red men slain in battle with the
white invader. In a similar manner
the red peoples which followed the
blowing Of the field of Waterloo were
said to have sprung from the blood
Of the killed and wounded in that
battle
According to tradition, the Danish
invasion ID the cause of the dane
weed, a coarse asteraceous plant COM
mon in England, as 1t sprang from
the blood of Danes slain in battle,
and. If cut on q certain day in the
year, 1t bleeds. The dwarf elder, for
the same reason, Is called danewors
and Danes blood. The clustered bell
flower also Is associated with this
historical event.
In the village of Barlow there are
four remarkable hills supposed to
have been thrown up by the Danes
as monumental memorials Of the bat
tie fought in 1006 between Canute
and Edmund Ironside. The clustered
bellfower Is largely scattered over
these mounds and the cottagers about
attribute its presence to its having
originated In Danish blood.
In Sussex the lily Of the valley Is
said to be a memorial Of the battle OF
st. Leonard fought with dragon.
The holy man encountered a mighty
worm or fire drake in the forest and
battled with it for three days. At
last the saint was victorious, though
wounded seriously, and wherever his
blood dropped there sprang up lilies
Of the valley in profusion. In France
the lily Of the valley is said to spring
from the virgins tears.
There is an amusing story told OF
the origin Of the bramble. There were
once three partners engaged In the
wool trade. They loaded a ship with
a large cargo, but it was wrecked
and the firm became bankrupt. All
resorted to metamorphosis for protec'
ton. One partner became the bat,
and so skulks about till midnight to
avoid his creditors; the second be-
came the cormorant, and is. forever
diving into the deep, to discover the
foundered vessel, while the third be-
came the bramble bush, that sits by
the roadside and seizes hold Of every
passing sheep to make up his loss by
theft.
| A rather humorous pedigree is a.
signed to the violet. These flowers
were once girls who, having defeated
Venus in dispute che had with Cupid
as to whether she or they excelled IN
sweetness, we're beaten blue by the
angry goddess and changed to violets'
There is a suitable legend told in
Germany Of the plantain or pawbread
which haunts so persistently the track
Of man. The plant was formerly a
maiden who, while watching by the
wayside for her lover, was trans
formed into this plant, but once In
seven years it becomes a bird. either
q cuckoo or a hoopoe, and goes flying
off I'M search Of the lost lover.
The story Is duplicated in another
German legend regarding the succory
A patient girl, after waiting day by
day for her betrothed for many q
month, at last. worn out with watch
ing, sank exhausted by the wayside
and expired. Only her pretty blue
| eyes remained alive and watchful and
SO before many days had passed this
little plant with It's starlike blossom
sprang up all about the spot where
| the broken hearted maiden had sighed
| away her life. Hence the common
name of the plant, "wagewarter," OF
watcher Of the road"