Note 84 — Chapter V · THE BIRDS OF SONG.

Botanists are not agreed as to the particular plant intended by “cuckoo-buds.” Miller, in his “Gardener’s Dictionary,” says the flower here alluded to is the Ranunculus bulbosus. One commentator on this passage has mistaken the Lychnis flos cuculi, or “cuckoo-flower” for “cuckoo-buds.” Another writer says, “cuckoo-flower” must be wrong, and believes “cowslip-buds” the true reading, but this is clearly a mistake. Walley, the editor of Ben Jonson’s Works, proposes to read “crocus-buds,” which is likewise incorrect. Sidney Beisley, the author of “Shakespeare’s Garden,” thinks that Shakespeare referred to the lesser celandine, or pilewort (Ranunculus ficaria), as this flower appears early in Spring, and is in bloom at the same time as the other flowers named in the song.