In contrast with the
smooth or softly undulating outlines of the spathe of Mediterranean Araceae,
one species stands out in relief, in which the sharply-marked fold of the
spathe almost corresponds to the forms of the ornaments which we are
discussing. It is _Dracunculus vulgaris_, and derives its name from its
stem, which is spotted like a snake. This plant, which is pretty widely
distributed in olive woods and in the river valleys of the countries
bordering on the Mediterranean, was employed to a considerable extent in
medicine by the ancients (and is so still nowadays, according to Von
Heldreich, in Greece). It was, besides, the object of particular regard,
because it was said not only to heal snake-bite, but the mere fact of
having it about one was supposed to keep away snakes, who were said
altogether to avoid the places where it grew. But, apart from this, the
striking appearance of this plant, which often grows to an enormous size,
would be sufficient to suggest its employment in art. According to
measurements of Dr. Julius Schmidt, who is not long since dead, and was the
director of the Observatory at Athens, a number of these plants grow in the
Valley of Cephisus, and attain a height of as much as two meters, the
spathe alone measuring nearly one meter. [The lecturer here exhibited a
drawing (natural size) of this species, drawn to the measurements above
referred to.]

[Illustration: FIG. 11.]

Dr. Sintenis, the botanist, who last year traveled through Asia Minor and
Greece, tells me that he saw beautiful specimens of the plant in many
places, _e.g._, in Assos, in the neighborhood of the Dardanelles, under the
cypresses of the Turkish cemeteries.

The inflorescence corresponds almost exactly to the ornament, but the
multipartite leaf has also had a particular influence upon its development
and upon that of several collateral forms which I cannot now discuss. The
shape of the leaf accounts for several as yet unexplained extraordinary
forms in the ancient plane-ornament, and in the Renaissance forms that have
been thence developed. It first suggested the idea to me of studying the
plant attentively after having had the opportunity five years ago of seeing
the leaves in the Botanic Gardens at Pisa. It was only afterward that I
succeeded in growing some flowers which fully confirmed the expectations
that I had of them (Figs. 10 and 11).

[Illustration: FIG. 12.]

The leaf in dracunculus has a very peculiar sh