56 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



and "king's cure" attest, though it is seldom that kings have 

 rheumatism, this disease being usually reserved for their 

 poorer subjects. The best-known common name is "pipsis- 

 sewa" undoubtedly of Indian origin. The Indians are said 

 to have called it si/^-si-scwa. "Prince's pine" or "princess 

 pine" indicate its use by royalty, generally. Any low ever- 

 green plant is likely to be called a "pine" and so we have 

 "pine tulip," "noble pine," and by an extension of the idea, 

 "ground holly." "Bitter wintergreen" and "bittersweet" re- 

 fer to the taste of the leaves and possibly "ratsbane" also 

 though the plant is in no way harmful to rats. "Love-in- 

 winter" is a poetic if inaccurate translation of the generic 

 term. Our only other species of Chiiiiaphila is C. macnlata 

 almost universally called "spotted wintergreen." It also 

 bears the names of "rheumatism-root" and "spotted pipsis- 

 sewa." The idea that the pipsissewas are harmful plants 

 is again borne out by the names "ratbane," "wild arsenic" 

 and "dragon's tongue" given to this species. 



Many flower-gathers mentally associate other heath- 

 worts with the wintergreens. especially Chiogenes hispidula 

 best known as "creeping snow-berry" or "running birch." 

 Its foliage has the same flavor as the aromatic wintergreen 

 and the black birch, which accounts for the last-mentioned 

 name The plant's prostrate habit and snow-white fruits have 

 suggested most of the other common names. It is called 

 "mountain partridge-berrv" through a confusion of the plant 

 with the true partridge-berry (Mitchella). "Maidenhair- 

 berry" is probably another popular misnomer. "Moxie- 

 berry" and "moxie-p'lum" are not even mentioned in the Cen- 

 tury Dictionary and would therefore appear to have no 

 origin in the tongues of the Old World. We suspect them 

 to be of Indian origin. The word Moxa, however, is used 

 in medicine to indicate a plant that may be burned close to 



