- Gilliflower
According to
American Heritage Dictionary :A gilliflower is:
*Thecarnation or a similar plant of the genus Dianthus.
*Any of several plants, such as the wallflower, that have fragrant flowers.Its name came via French "giroflée" from Greek "karyophyllon" = "nut-leaf" = thespice calledclove . Some say that "gillyflower" originally referred to scented plants that were used in Europe as a cheap substitute for the spice called clove.An archaic recipe for gilliflower wine is mentioned in the "Cornish Recipes Ancient & Modern" dated to 1753:
Gilliflowers are mentioned by
Mrs. Lovett in the song "Wait" from theSondheim musical "Sweeney Todd " andin the novel "La Faute de l'Abbé Mouret " (aka Abbe Mouret's Transgression or the Sin of the Father Mouret) byÉmile Zola as part of the "Les Rougon-Macquart " series.References
*"dated" 1753
*"from" St. Stephens W.I. "in" Cornish Recipes, Ancient & Modern, 22nd Edition, The Cornwall Federation of Women's Institutes 1965.
*First collected & published by Edith Martin, Tregavethan, Truro, 1929, "for" The Cornwall F.of W. I.
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