Oxford Dictionary of Plant-Lore (Oxford Paperback Reference)

About this book

Why do the Welsh wear a daffodil on St. Davids Day and the Irish a shamrock for St. Patrick? Why do we send flowers to weddings and funerals or kiss under the mistletoe? From elderflower tea (a universal panacea) to lesser yellow trefoil (the true shamrock) from corn dollies and crop circles to plants which forecast the weather (pennywort and scarlet pimpernel) this dictionary is a vivid and colorful account of British and Irish plant-lore. Superstitions and herbal remedies to folk song and childrens games Folk-names in use today never previously recorded