THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 19 



another white h. The Name of Brythruniitm, given to another 

 group of plants much hke true hHes, is also from the Greek. 

 Brythros means "red," and the name is said to have originally 

 been applied to some species with flowers of this color. Still 

 another lily-like group is found in the genus Hemerocallis 

 which comes from two Greek words meaning "beautiful for a 

 day," in reference to the evanescent character of the flowers. 

 Punkia, the name by which other day lilies are called, is for 

 Henry Funk, a German cryptogamic botanist. 



The checkered perianths of some species of Fritcllaria 

 have suggested the generic name from fritellus signifying a 

 chess-board. CcDiiassia is an adaptation from the Indian 

 camass or quauiasli by which name the aborigines knew the 

 plant we call wild hyancinth. The name is often written 

 Oiianiassia. The species are closely related to an Old World 

 group to which the squills belongs and in early books may be 

 found in the genus Scilla. Yucca is another aboriginal name, 

 this time coming from Haiti. It is said to have been the origi- 

 nal West Indian name for the cassava plant (ManUiot) and to 

 have been applied erroneously to our plant by Gerarde of 

 "Herbal" fame. Tlie genus Titlipa is said to come from the 

 Persian TJwulihan, signifying a turban, in allusion to the 

 flowers. It is difficult to see how the suggestion applies, how- 

 ever. 



Aletris, the generic name of a curious little plant known 

 as colic-root, was apparently the name of a Greek female slave 

 who ground corn, or rather, wheat, since the Greeks did not 

 have the plant we call corn. Wood's "Class-book of Botany," 

 however, says the name signifies a miller's wife, which perhaps 

 amounts to the same thing ! Whatever the derivation, the fact 

 is plain that the name was applied to our plant because of the 

 mealy appearance of the blossoms. 



