50 THE PLANT WOELD 



Briefer Articles. 



DERIVATION OF DOG'S-TOOTH LILY. 



(dog's-tooth vioi.et.) 

 By Grace Stoddard Niles. 



That old proverb, "What's in a name !" is not applicable to botan- 

 ical nomenclature, for one might ask rather, what is there that is not in 

 a name ! 



A suggestive derivation of "Dog's-tooth," curiously presented among 

 the "Briefer Articles " in The Plant World for January, 1902, is based 

 upon the author's imagination, the seeds of this lily reminding him of 

 an animal's teeth. As I possess the only extant English translation of 

 the "History of Plants," published by Doctor Eembert Dodoens in 

 1578, I may give the true origin of " Dog's-tooth " in part. The Latin, 

 dejis-canis, for dog's-tooth did not have its birth in 1753, with Linnaeus, 

 as is commonly supposed. Linnaeus himseK may scarcely have known 

 where he really obtained either the generic or specific designation. As 

 far as I am able to discover, the origin of the present generic name, 

 Erytlironiiun, signifying red, was taken from a former specific name of 

 an ancient species of Orchis {Satyrion Erythronium). Satyrioyi and 

 Orchis, in Greek, mean virtually the same. Satyrion, the ancient shop 

 name, was derived from the Greek Cynorchis, which becomes in Latin, 

 Testiculus canis, and in English the common names are satyrion, dog's 

 cullions, standergrass, ragwort and adder's grass. 



Dog's-tooth lily produced roots good for the " teeth," used in Dios- 

 corides' day, 400 B. C. The red-spotted leaves of this plant being simi- 

 lar to species of Orchis or Satyrion, became confused, therefore, with 

 red satyrion as observed, and the corruption of names, "dog," {canis), 

 and "teeth" {dens) originated "dog's-tooth," the common name for all 

 species of Erythroniimis. 



Dodoens in 1578 wrote of this lily : "This herbe is now called 

 Denticulus canis, and Dens caninus; of some it is also called Fseudo- 

 hermodactylas, of others, Satyrion Erythronium, wherewithal, notwith- 

 standing it hath no similitude, but seemeth to be Ephemeron non lethale, 

 of Dioscorides, which is also Liliiim Sylvester ; (a wild lily), and it may 

 well be called Liliinn Sylvester, because that floure when as it hangeth 

 douneward toward the grounde is much like lillies saving it is ever 



