The Scottish Naturalist. 275 



from the circmate evolution of the young fronds — an essential 

 characteristic of ferns. 



Polypodium vulgare — Clock - reaihneach (Armstrong), the 

 stone-fern ; dock, a stone. It is common on stone-walls, stones, 

 and old stems of trees. Ceis-chrann. Irish : c'eis chrainn, — 

 cis, a tax, tribute, and era tin, a tree, because it draws the sub- 

 stance from the trees ; or from the crosier-like development of 

 the fronds, like a shepherd's crook, " cis-cecm." Sgeamh 11a clock. 

 Sgeamh means reproach, and sgiamh or sgeimh, beauty, orna- 

 ment ; " na clock" of the stones. The second idea seems, at 

 least in modern times, to be more appropriate than the first, 

 especially as the term was applied to the really beautiful oak- 

 fern. 



" Mu chinneas luibhean 'us an sgeimh." 

 How the flowers and the ferns grow. 



Reidh raineack, — reidh, smooth, plain. Raineach nan crag, the 

 rock-fern. Mearlag (in Lochaber), perhaps from wear or 

 meiir, a finger, from a fancied resemblance of the pinnules to 

 fingers. 



P. Dryopteris — Oak-fern. Gaelic and Irish : sgeamh dharaich 

 (O'Reilly), the oak-fern. No Gaelic name is recorded for the 

 beech-fern (P. Phegopteris). 



Blechnum spicant — Hard fern. The only Gaelic name sup- 

 plied for this fern is " an raineach chruaidh" hard fern. It is 

 impossible to say whether this is a translation or not. Being a 

 conspicuous and well-defined fern, it must have had a Gaelic 

 name. 



Cystopteris fragilis — Bladder-fern. Gaelic : friodh raineach, 

 or frioth fhraineach, — "friotk" small, slender. The tufts are 

 usually .under a foot long ; stalks very slender. 



Polystichum aculeatum, lohatum, and angulare — Gaelic : 

 ibkig (Rev. A. Stewart), the name by which the shield-ferns 

 are known in the West Highlands. This name may have ref- 

 erence to the medicinal drinks formerly made from the pow- 

 dered roots being taken in water as a specific for worms (see 

 L. filix-mas), from ibh, a drink. French : ivre. Latin : ebrius. 



P. Lonchitis — Holly fern. Gaelic: raineach-chuilinn (Stewart), 

 holly fern, known by that name in Lome ; also cblg raineach, 

 in Breadalbane and elsewhere. For cu ilea mi and cblg, see Ilex 

 aquifolium. 



Lastrea Oreopteris — Sweet mountain fern. Gaelic : crim- 



