The Folk-lore of Plants

by T.F. Thiselton-Dyer

Firstly, to dream of white flowers has been supposed to prognosticate death; with which may be compared the popular belief that "if a white rosebush puts forth unexpectedly, it is a sign of death to the nearest house;" dream-omens in many cases reflecting the superstitions of daily life. In Scotch ballads the birch is associated with the dead, an illustration of which we find in the subjoined

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Mythology

338 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1994

About the author

Thomas Firminger Thiselton Dyer was an English writer of popular non-fiction books, including British Customs: Past and Present, The Folk-lore of Plants, and perhaps most famously, Strange Pages from Family Papers, which was considered a masterpiece of popular historical writing.

Reviews

[Maggie]

Full of fun little bits of information on, as the title says, the folk-lore of plants. It does have a very obvious bias, though.

[Nightkid]

這本書讓我有一種資料堆砌的感覺，只看到作者用心地把與植物相關的民俗與宗教知識寫進書裡。

[Chicory]

Not exactly that informative, I think. He listed stuff more than he explained. However, there were still interesting details and bits of folklore. Some of his asides annoyed me, as did the constant "primitive this, primitive that". If you want more story-like entries, I guess Charles Montgomery Skinner's "Myths and Legends of Flowers, Trees, Fruits and Plants" would be better?

Longer review: here.

[Clivemichael]

Boring , chapters of lists with obscure references, dated and unscholarly