The abecedarian mystery.

[saxikath]

Still can't find anything that'll tell me what abecedary is. I looked in some plant dictionaries in the company library, but no luck. (Anyone out there have easy access to a copy of Hortus Third?)

I have found that there's something called "alphabet plant," also known as "toothache plant," "para cress," and "Brasil cress." (Spilanthes acmella and a couple other species). That could plausibly be something someone used to call abecedary, but I can't tell for sure.

Comments

[zdenka]

Huh. You've made me curious now. I consulted all the plant dictionaries at my school's library and found no entries for abecedary or alphabet plant. Maybe try the Boston Public Library (and the reference librarians thereof)? They have a lot of 19th-century material, including stuff that isn't in the catalog.