Snapdragon

Snapdragon (Antirrhinum), a genus of plants of the natural order Scrophulariaceæ, consisting of annual and perennial herbaceous plants, chiefly natives of the temperate parts of the northern hemisphere. ‘They have the calyx five-parted; the corolla swollen at the base, but without a spur, and personate (Lat. persona, ‘a mask’)—i.e. its mouth closed by the pressure of the lower against the upper lip; and the fruit is a two-celled oblique capsule, opening by three pores at the apex. The English name refers to a peculiarity of the corolla, the lower lip of which, if forcibly parted from the upper so as to open the mouth, shuts with an elastic spring or snap. Some of the species have very pretty flowers. A. majus has long been a favourite in British gardens, in which there are many fine varieties of it. The whole plant is bitter. An oil is extracted in Persia from the very abundant seeds, by heating and then submitting them to pressure.—Snapdragon is also the name for a Christmas pastime in which raisins are snatched out of a dish in which brandy is burning, in a room otherwise dark.