A Dictionary of Plant-Lore

Offering a vivid and colourful account of British and Irish plant-lore, this dictionary answers questions such as why the Welsh wear a daffodil on St David’s Day and the Irish a shamrock for St Patrick, and why 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 covers them all. It also includes: superstitions and herbal remedies; folksong and children’s games; and folk-names in use today never previously recorded.