THE AMERICAN BOTANIST ^ 55 



fying unity. The word "onion" signifying a large pearl is 

 also derived from unio but the identical word, says the diction- 

 ary, may not have served for both derivations. "Garlic" is 

 another ancient name from the Anglo-Saxon gar meaning a 

 spear or lance, and leac the wild leek. The word, leek, itself, 

 is found as a variant in many of the languages of central and 

 northern Europe and the "gar-leek" was evidently only an- 

 other kind of leek with round spearshaped leaves instead of 

 the flat leaves of the common species. The "chives" (Allium 

 schoenoprasum) is in like rnanner called "rush garlic." 

 "Chives," it appears, comes from the French cives, supposed 

 to have been derived from the Latin Cepa, the specific name 

 of the common onion. "Cives," therefore, seems to be the 

 better spelling of the name. Allium vineale is known as "field 

 garlic" and "crow garlic." The latter name is unintelligible 

 unless it denotes the worthless qualities of this plant. 



; Although practically all the lilyworts are perennials, there 



are very few that are evergreen and still fewer, in our climate 



that are woody. In fact, the genus Smilax contains all the 



representatives of the latter kind. From the circumstance 



that the stems of certain species are armed with prickles and 

 remain green all winter, they are called "cat-briers" and 

 green-briers." The common Smilax rotundifolia has accumu- 

 lated the largest number of vernacular names. Of these 

 "'horse-brier," "wait-a-bit," and devil's hop-vine" are of ob- 

 vious derivation. "Bamboo brier" apparently alludes to the 

 similarity of the stem structure to that of some of the rattans 

 which are occasionally known as bamboos. "Hungry-vine" 

 possibly refers to the way in which the vines cover up other 

 plants, though in view of such other names as "biscuit leaves," 

 and "bread-and-butter," there may be a more appropriate 



