^^P^-'l Keblk, Aboriginal Plant Names. 67 



Several listed plant names have ruk as a syllable. Woor ike 

 (wa ruk), Common Honeysuckle Tree, Banksia niarginata, 

 Cavanilles (the war rak of Thomas), is derived from wa, water, 

 and ruk, the cone, which was soaked by the natives in water 

 to "obtain therefrom a pleasant drink" (Taplin). Dik, in 

 koma ba dik. Common Tree Fern, Dioksonia antardica, Labill., 

 is, I am disposed to think, an elision similar to derrk. Kom 

 means to be inside, covered, buried, as in koom on eit, to bury ; 

 kom per ka wang or kum bra kow an, hat ; kam kam koor, 

 insect ; kooim, a kangaroo ; kam bo duk, a carrot ; kum ba deek, 

 cabbage or grass tree (Thomas) ; and others. Ba or bo, small. 

 The pith " within the tree " was roasted in the ashes and 

 eaten (F. von M.) Koo d rung (ko de ruk), Rainbow Fern, 

 Davallia dubia, R. Brown, comes from ko, from {cf. koor, a 

 seed) ; deruk, an elided form of de ruk, from the roots. The 

 roots of this and other small ferns were eaten. Min am he rang 

 (min nam ber .ruk). Greater Clematis, Clematis aristata, R. 

 Brown, is derived from min, round, oval, bent, flexed, curved, 

 reflected, as in be min, ring-tailed possum ; min e jee rim e ring, 

 deformed ; myng, eye ; woor un dul min, looking-glass ; myn, 

 cam, moon, &c., &c. ; nam, above ; ber, to wander ; ruk (rang), 

 stem. The roots of this word are for the most part descriptive, 

 but min suggests that it may have been used as a fibre or for 

 basket-making. Co ran derrk (ko rum derrk), Christmas Bush, 

 Prostanthcra lasianthos, Labill., comes from ko, from ; rum, 

 to make lively ; derrk, from a branch. The wood of the 

 Christmas Bush was used for the fire stick, which was twirled 

 (wer gar rk) in the hands. Note the signification of the 

 syllable rum in the rendering " to produce fire by twirling a 

 stick." 



Eurt or Yurt, another general name for plant life, differs 

 from ruk in that it is an individual word, as, for instance, in 

 eurt, a dwarf wattle tree — in fact, dwarf or diminutive is 

 suggested in many examples. It is represented by shortened 

 forms in wea eu ruk, root of a tree ; murr ur mer ruk (mer eurt 

 mer ruk), venation ; eur look, peppermint ; wy gout, cedar ; 

 bo urt (bo eurt), rush ; bo eurt, grass ; boo yeat, a vegetable ; 

 bourt deet (bo eurt), a vegetable ; tal le rup (tal eur(t) rup), 

 vegetable (swamp plant) ; yepp ere (yep eurt), a small, sweet 

 bulb. In the list of plant names it occurs in Poo eet. Prickly 

 Tree Fern, Alsophila australis, R. Brown, as simply bo eurt, 

 a vegetable, bo meaning small. The heart of the fern was 

 eaten by the natives (F. von M.) 



Mern derrt (no flower nor fruit) and mu drurf, Blue Squill, 

 ChamcBscilla cdrymhosa, F. von M., come from mern or merrim, 

 deep, below the surface ; derrt and drurt, an elision of de eurt, 



