Asphodel
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Asphodel. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
as'fo-del, a plant of the lily kind. It is known also as king's-spear. There is some confusion in the use of the name. The common asphodel of the ancients, the asphodel of Greek mythology, is a handsome plant growing from a cluster of fleshy roots to a height of from two to four feet. The leaves are long, rough edged, and pointed. They cling closely to the stalk. The blossom is of a pallid yellow color. Among the Greeks the asphodel was the peculiar flower of the dead. Homer speaks of the shades of heroes congregated in the asphodel meadows of Hades. The banks of asphodel that border the river of life.--Holmes, Autocrat. Two angels, one of Life and one of Death, Passed o'er our village as the morning broke; But one was crowned with amaranth, as with flame, And one with asphodels, like flakes of light.--Longfellow, The Two Angels. 2026 Editor's Note: The asphodel carpeted the Greek underworld's meadows , where the shades of ordinary mortals drifted — an image so evocative it still appears in fiction, from Homer to Harry Potter, where a draught of asphodel and wormwood opens Snape's first potions lesson. The plant still blooms wild across the Mediterranean. (Ed: BR 2026-06-26)
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the English name of the plants belonging to the genus asphodelus. The yellow and white species were introduced into this country during the 16th century-the former about the year 1596, and the latter in 1551. The asphodels, being sacred to Proserpine, were used in classic times in funeral ceremonies, and the souls of the departed were supposed by the poets to wander in beautiful meadows adorned with these flowers. In botany, a genus of plants belonging to the order liliaceæ and the section anthericeæ. About eight species are familiar, the best known being A. luteus, the yellow; A. albus, the white; and A. ramosus, the branched lily, or asphodel, called also king's rod. To this family belong the garlic, the hyacinth, the squill, and the Star of Bethlehem.