THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 21 



ing "single leaf," though the plant really has two, as the speci- 

 hc name bifolium indicates ! Asparagus is the term by which 

 the Mediterranean people knew our familiar garden plant and 

 the name has come dow^n to us through the ages unchanged. 



In the Greek, Polygonatuui, f)y which the true Solomon's 

 seals are known, signifies "many knees" and alludes to the 

 knobbed root-stocks. Some botanists call the genus Salmonea 

 in honor of Solomon ! The false Solomon's seals are placed 

 in the genus Sniilicina, supposed to be a diminutive of Sniilax. 

 As to Sinilax, itself, the name seems of obscure derivation. It 

 is an ancient Greek term and Gray suggests that it may have 

 originally been applied to some other genus. Wood, however, 

 derives the name from a Greek word for a grater and says it 

 refers to the rough stems. A former Governor of New- York 

 and patron of science, DeWitt Clinton is commemorated in 

 Clintonia. 



The paired seeds in the fruits of Disporum account for 

 the scientific name which means "tw'o seeds" or "double seeds." 

 A closely allied genus Strcptupns is named from two Greek 

 words meaning "twisted" and "foot." The English name is 

 commonly rendered "tw'isted stalk," but "slew-foot" is possi- 

 bly a more literal if less euphonious translation. When the 

 trilliums are not separated as a distinct family, they are usually 

 grouped with the Con\allariaceae. Trilliniu, as is well known, 

 comes from the Latin for three and alludes to the parts of the 

 flower which are rather more conspicuouslv in threes than in 

 most of the group. The reputed medicinal properties of the 

 single species in the genus Medeola caused it to be named for 

 the famous sorceress, Medea. According to fable Medea w^as 

 familiar with a large number of potent plants w^iich she used 

 in w^orking her spells, but the plants, the medicinal virtues of 

 Medeola, and even Medea herself are now known to be mere 

 creatures of the imagination. 



