1. This may have been a type of fungus known as fly agaric, a red and white capped mushroom with potent psychoactive properties and high levels of toxicity.
2. Vetches are a small flowering plant used to feed farm animals.
3. Lupins are a type of legume with colorful yellow pods.
4. Cowslip is the common name for Primula veris, a flowering plant related to the primrose that produces bright yellow blossoms in the spring.
5. One commonly misunderstood aspect of historic mummers plays and Morris dancing that bears mentioning stems from the performers’ early use of black makeup to completely mask the face. The makeup was originally used not as an allusion to race, but rather, it was intended to symbolize the idea of the “Other,” the darkness, the potential gruesomeness and cruelty of the night. As the act of blackening the face lost its original symbolism and became racially offensive, this aspect of the masquerade was largely dropped in Morris dancing and mummers plays alike. For more information, see Demons of Disorder: Early Blackface Minstrels and Their World by Dale Cockrell (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 50–54.