THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 151 



is usually understood, but "treacle" originally meant sover- 

 eign remedy, especially a remedy against poison. It is prac- 

 tically certain that none of the Cruel ferae have any such 

 properties hut the idea crops out in connecti<»n with several 

 species, especially Tliliispi arrciisis. All the species of Brysi- 

 iiuiiii are called "false wallflowers." The true wallflowers 

 are regarded as belonging to an allied genus Chciranthns. 

 The truly true wallflower is supposed to be C. chciri. It was 

 so called because it is fond of growing on walls. The spe- 

 cific name of the "treacle mustard," therefore, would indicate 

 that it has the best right to be considered the really false wall- 

 flower. 



The last of the rockets to be listed here is the dame's" 

 r(Kket," "night rocket." or "sw^eet rocket" (Hcspcris matron- 

 alis.) The plant is fre(|uently known as "dame's violet," 

 the name harking back tn the time when "violet" might mean 

 any conspicuous flower. "Damewort" is supposed to be a 

 still earlier name. The common name is undoubtedly a trans- 

 lation of the scientific one. but there are those who make 

 scientific names to fit the case as there are makers of common 

 ones and someone has suggested that the name is really from 

 Viola Damasccna and refers to Damascus the plant's place of 

 origin. To this idea the name of "damask violet" gives sup- 

 port. The name of "summer lilac" is quite meaningless. 

 Had it been "spring phlox" it might have been applied with 

 some reason for at a little distance the plants, when in flower, 

 strongly resemble the tall phlox. In Hill's "British Her- 

 bal" our plant is called "eve-wee.d," not in honor of the mother 

 of our race but because it gives ofif its odor only at nightfall. 

 From the odor, or color it derives the names of"night violet." 

 and "queen's" "night-scented," "winter" and "rogue's gilH- 

 flower." The word "gilliflower," it may be added, is said to 



