The Scottish Naturalist. 75 



I 'ale yellow primrose of the bank, 

 So pure and beautiful thine appearance ! 

 Growing in clumps, round-leaved, 

 Tender, soft, clustered, waving ; 

 Thou wilt be dressed in the spring 

 When the rest are hiding in the bud. 



The Irish name soghradhach (Shaw), means amiable, lovely, 

 acceptable. The Gaelic names have the same meaning. Sobh 

 or subh, pleasure, delight, joy. Soradh, soirigh, are contractions ; 

 also samharcan. Irish : samharcain (sa/nhas, delight, pleasure). 



"Am bi na samhraichean s' neonan farm." — Old Song. 

 " Gu trie anns' na bhuinn sinn a t' sdracA." — Munro. 

 Often we gathered there the primrose. 



Welsh : briollu, — brio/, dignified ; allwedd, key. " The queenly 

 flower that opens the lock to let in summer" (Brockie). 



P. veris — Cowslip. Gaelic : muisean, the low rascal, the 

 devil. U A choire mhutseanaich" a dell full of cowslips. Cattle 

 refuse to eat it. therefore farmers dislike it. Brbg na cubhaig 

 (M'Kenzie), the cuckoo's shoe. Irish : seichearlan, seicheirghi/i. 

 seicheirghlan, from seiche, hide or skin. It was formerly boiled, 

 and i; an ointment or distilled water was made from it, which 

 addeth much to beauty, and taketh away spots and wrinkles of 

 the skin, sun-burnings and freckles, and adds beauty exceed- 

 ingly." The name means the "skin-purifier." Baine bo bhiiie, 

 the yellow cow's milk. Baine bo bleacht, the milk- cow's milk. 



P. auricula — Auricula. Gaelic : lies na banu-righ, the queen's 

 flower. 



Cyclamen hedersefolia — Sow-bread. Gaelic : culurin (perhaps 

 from cul or cullach, a boar, and a ran, bread), the boar's bread. 



Lysimachia (from Greek Xvcro) and /xa^o/xat, 1 fight). 



L. vulgaris — Loose-strife. Gaelic and Irish: Ins na siihchai/ie, 

 the herb of peace (silh, peace, rest, ease ; cdin, state of). Con- 

 aire, the keeper of friendship. The termination "aire" denotes 

 an agent; and con all, friendship, love. An seileachan buidhe, the 

 yellow willow herb. 



L. nemorum —Wood loose-strife ; yellow pimpernel. Gaelic 

 and Irish: seanihair Mhuire {seamhair, sea/nh, gentle, sweet, and 

 fair, grass ; seamhrog (shamrock), generally applied to the tre- 

 foils and wood-sorrel. (See Oxalis.) Mhuire of Mary ; Jfaire, 

 Mary. This form is especially applied to the Blessed Virgin 

 Mary- Lus Cholum-cille, the wort of St Columba, the apostle 

 of Scotland. Columb, a dove ; cille, of the church. This 



