122 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



ing vegetation. But he who runs to pluck it is doomed to dis- 

 appointment and disgust for, in contrast to most alpine plants, 

 it is very ill-smelling. As there are no insects up there to be 

 attracted, this seems to be Nature's way of protecting so no- 

 ticeable a plant from being eaten by animals. Thus it may 

 safely flaunt its beauty though it has earned the name of ill- 

 smelling primrose. 



PLANT NAMES AND THEIR MEANINGS 



By W11.1.ARD N. C1.UTE 



THE names of plants have ever formed an important part 

 of Botany. The collecting of plants and the running down 

 of their names by the use of a "Key" was long considered the 

 end and aim of plant studies and even now this amusement 

 has not entirely ceased to interest the botanizer. The question 

 as to the exact name each plant should bear, originated shortly 

 after the Christian Era and still forms the subject for numer- 

 ous acrimonious debates among the devotees of "the Amiable 

 Science." 



Meanwhile the meanings that lie in plant names have 

 received scant attention. To be sure, nearly all botanical 

 Manuals attempt to give the derivations of the generic names 

 but apparently with only indifferent success, if we may judge 

 from the diversity of derivations suggested. Since the generic 

 names are usually taken from the Latin' and Greek, a correct 

 derivation ought ordinarily to be easy, but frequently it is far 

 from being so. In the case of the common or vernacular 

 names, the difficulties increase. There is no recognized author- 

 ity upon which we may depend. Common names have been 



