6 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



do so. Wood anemone is a name most appropriate for our 

 species. The plant is also known as nightcaps and snowdrops 

 from the appearance of the flowers. It is very evident that 

 the terms wild cucumber and nimble- weed applied to this 

 plant are mere misnomers. Nimbleweed, however, appears 

 to be a corruption of thimble-weed, a name given to Anemone 

 cylindrica and A. Virginica. Applied to these plants it is of 

 some significance, since the heads of fruit have a decided 

 resemblance to a thimble. In the mouths of the unobservant, 

 the same name becomes tumble-weed. 



Aneiuoue Pulsatilla, is one of the most widespread mem- 

 bers of its genus and naturally leads its congeners in the 

 matter of names in the vernacular. The commonest appella- 

 tion is pasque-flower which means simply Easter-flower. The 

 plant is also know^n as Easter— flower, wind-flower, and May- 

 flower. The names of wild crocus, blue tulip, and rock lily 

 are evidently due to fancied resemblances of the flower to 

 other species, while headache-plant and hartshorn-plant refer 

 to the use of this species in medicine. The term gosling 

 alludes to the abundant hairs with which the i)lant is clothed 

 and prairie smoke might be due either to the hairv leaves or 

 to the smokelike effect produced when a colony of flowers 

 are seen from a distance. Lion's-beard has reference to the 

 fuzzy heads of fruit, April fools to their early blooming, but 

 why does the plant bear the name of cat's eye and badger ? 



The conspicuous fruits of species of Actaea have given 

 rise to a number of their vernacular names. The commonest 

 one, given to both of our native species, is baneberry, because 

 of their reputed poisonous properties. The names of poison- 

 l)erry and snake-berry, applied to A. rubra, are additional 

 names suggestive of the idea. Cohosh is another term shared 

 by the two species. Actaea rubra is red cohosh or black co- 

 hosh, and A. alba is white cohosh or blue cohosh. The true 

 black cohosh, is supposed to be Ciniicifuga, while blue 

 cohosh is regarded as being properly the CaulopJiyllnui. The 



