76 The Scottish Naturalist. 



name is given in the Highlands to Hypericum, which see. Rosor 

 (O'Reilly). Ros is sometimes used for /us. Ros-or, yellow or 

 golden rose. "From the Sanskrit, ruksha or rusha, meaning tree, 

 becomes in Gaelic ros, a tree or treelet, just as daksha, the 

 right hand, becomes dexter in Latin and deas in Gaelic. Ros, 

 therefore, means a tree or small tree, or a place where such trees 

 grow — hence the names of places that are marshy or enclosed 

 by rivers, as Roslin, Ross-shire, Roscommon," &x. — Canon 

 Bourke. 



Anagallis arvensis — Pimpernel, poor man's weather-glass. 

 Gaelic : falcair. Irish : falcaire fiodhaiu, the wild cleanser (fal- 

 cadh, to cleanse). The name expressing the medicinal qualities 

 of the plant, which, by its purgative and cleansing power, removes 

 obstructions of the liver, kidneys, &c. Falcaire fuair, —fal- 

 caire also means a reaper, and fuair, cold ; fuaradh, to cool, a 

 weather-gauge. The reaper's weather-gauge, because it points 

 out the decrease of temperature by its hygrometrical properties 

 — when there is moisture the flower does not open. Loisgeau 

 (M 'Donald), from loisg, to put in flame, on account of its fiery 

 appearance. Ruiiui ruise (O'Reilly). Ruinn means sex, and by 

 pre-eminence the " male ; " ruise is the genitive case of ros. It is 

 still called the male pimpernel in some places. The distilled 

 water or juice of this plant was much esteemed formerly for 

 cleansing the skin. 



Plumbaginace^. 



Armeria maritima — Thrift. Gaelic : tonn a chladaich (Arm- 

 strong), the "beach-wave," frequent on the sea-shore, banks of 

 rivers, and even on the Grampian tops. Bar-dearg, red-top, from 

 its pink flower. Nebinean chladaich, the beach daisy, from 

 cladach, shore, beach, sandy plain. 



PlANTAGINACEjE. 



Plantago major — Greater plaintain. Gaelic and Irish : cuach 

 Phadraig, Patrick's bowl or cup, — in some places crunch Phad- 

 raig, Patrick's heap or hill. Welsh : llydain y fford, spread on 

 the way. 



P. lanceolata — Rib -wort. Gaelic and Irish: slan lus, the 

 healing plant. 



" Le meilbheig, le neoinean 's le sldn-lus." — M'LEOD. 



With poppy, daisy, and rib-wort. 



Lus an f slanuchaidh (lus, a wort, a plant-herb, chiefly used for 



