Hag of Hell.

This little scilla was popping out of the ground. Too wet to go out with the camera so I brought it inside. Love to see them at this time of year because it means that the warmer weather is just around the corner. Never really understood why they got their name though...

"What loathsome monster of the earth
Were fit comparison? The double snake -
Or Scylla, where she dwells, the seaman's bane,
Girt round about with rocks? some hag of hell,
Raving a truceless curse."

- Aeschylus
525-456 B.C.

Ovid reckons that Scylla "was once a beautiful nymph" so I can buy that part... but where does the dangerous bit come in? I guess the drooping heads may resemble the beast, but I'm sure there must have been better descriptors for such a beautiful plant out there.

Of course all the early botanists were men. Sorry guys, but that's why your species shouldn't be allowed to pick names! LOL!