This is not a British plant, though it has become firmly established on many old ruins throughout the country. It is a native of Central and Northern Europe, and according to Loudon was introduced to England in 1573. It is never found growing on rocks in this country, as would be the case were it a native. In some districts it is known as Gillyflower, a name corrupted from the French, GiroflÉe de Muraille. Old writers who use the name Gillyflower refer to the Clove Pink; in the present day the plant usually intended by the term is the Garden Stock. Culpepper calls this Winter Gillyflower. The wild plants are always the single yellow variety. It is a Cruciferous plant, like the Bittercress and Shepherd’s Purse, and the structure of the flowers is very similar to those. The sepals are very long, and for economy’s sake that part of It is the only species occurring wild, but in the garden it has produced many grand varieties. The name is most probably derived from the Greek, cheir, the hand, and anthos, flower—that is a flower suited by its fragrance to be held as a bouquet.
|