PHYTOLOGY. 



THE GAELIC NAMES OF PLANTS. 



By JOHN CAMERON. 



{^Continued from p. 269.) 



Myrtace^. 

 Punica granatum — Pomegranate. Gaelic : gi-an uhhai {gran, 

 Latin, gra?iwn), grain-apple. 



" Tha do gheuga mar lios^m^ tihhlan^ leis a'mheas a's taitniche. " — Song 

 OF Solomon. 



Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates with pleasant fruits. 

 (Now generally wx'iW^w povigranat in recent editions.) 



Myrtus communis — Myrtle. Gaelic : iniorial. 



"An ait droighne fasaidh an guithas, agus an ait drise fasaidh am miortaV 

 — Isaiah Iv. 13. 



Instead of the thorn shall grow the fir, and instead of the briar, the myrtle. 



Onagrace^. 

 Epilobium montanum — Mountain willow-herb. Gaelic: an 

 scikac/ian, diminutive of seileach (Latin : salix, a willow), from 

 the resemblance of its leaves to the willow. Welsh : he/yg/ys, 



same meanmg. 



E. angustifolium — Rosebay. Gaelic : scilcachan frangach, 

 French willow. Feamaifin (in Breadalbane), a common name for 

 l)lants growing near water, especially if they have long stalks. 



Circaea lutetiana and alp.ina — Enchantress's nightshade. 

 Gaelic and Irish : fuinnseach. Not improbably from Irish iiinn- 

 seac/i, playing the wanton — the reference being to the fruit, which 

 lays hold of the clothes of passengers, from being covered with 

 hooked prickles (as Circe is fabled to have done with her enchant- 

 ments) ; or////;/;/, a veil, a covering. The genus grows in shady 

 places, where shrubs fit for incantations may be found. "■ Fuhin 

 (a word of various significations), also means the earth ; and seach, 

 dry — i.e., the earth-dryer. Fuinnscagal (another Irish name), 

 from Seagal (Latin, sccalc), rye — i.e., ground-rye" (Brockie). Lus 

 na li'oidhnan, the maiden's or enchantress's weed. 



