IRISH GARDENING 



jilauts as Onosma taiirifuiii, O. alba roseuui, 

 Hypericum, fragile i^iuariax, Achillea Kellereri, 

 Cani])auula gargauica, V. haylodgensis and C. 

 velutii)a, Tliyniu.s laiiugiuosus and the en- 

 crusted Huckfoil.s, <.V:c. Even the Haberlea and 

 ('yst()i)teri.s fragili.s Dickeana were living in this 

 uu)rtar ru})ble mixture. The lime in the rubble 

 seems to absorb moisture from the atmosphere, 

 and it apparently suits many subjects. At the 

 base of the wall a patch of Helichrysum belli- 

 dioidcs, 2 feet across, was covered with daisy-like 

 everlasting flowers. 



Is the Day Nettle Poisonous ? 



(Guleopfii'i Te trait il). 



In glancing over the ])rovincial news cohunu 



of the Irish Times 



of the 11th January 



last yeai-, the follow- 



ing paragraph 



caught my eye : — 



" Compensation for 

 Nettle Sting. — At 

 Derry Recorder's 

 Court yesterday, be- 

 ll )re n is Honor Judge 

 Todd, K.C, an ap- 

 l»lication came u]) 

 under the Work- 

 men's Compensation 

 Act, in which a 

 labourernamed John 

 Donnell, of Mobouy, 

 sought com^jensa- 

 tion vmder peculiar 

 circumstances from 

 Messrs. K. & T. 

 Stuart, Spencer 

 Road, Derry. It ap- 

 peared that in Sej)- 

 tember Donnell was 

 employed by the de- 

 fendants in harvest- 

 ing o])erati()ns a1 

 (ireenan, and when 

 lifting corn got stun;.' 

 (Ill t lie middle linger 

 of the right hand by 

 a day nettle. Blood 

 poisoning ensueil. 

 with the result thai 

 a bone had to \)v 

 taken out of the 

 linger. An agree- 

 ment was ari'ived at 



by which t lie apjilicant was to receive £1 4s. (5d. 

 coniix'iisation and £1 costs, and Jlis Honor made 

 this agreement a rule of Court." 



The name Day Nettle here ai)plied to some 

 cornliehl weed, being quite unknown to me, 

 though evidently familiar to Ulster folk. 1 wrote 

 for information to a friend in Derry. From him 

 1 learned that the nanu; was in common use in 

 Deri'y aiui Donegal where it was applied, not to 

 either of our stinging nettles, Ci'tica dioica or 

 U. urens, but to (ialeopsis Tetrahit, a luember 

 of a different order, the Labiatse. My cor- 

 rcsiiondent further informed me of a second 

 instance which had come to his knowledge of 

 maiming due to contact with this noxious plant. 

 The siifferer in this case was a Dtmegal clergyman 



Pi;iMl'l-A IJKOKLM AT MucKhA(iH, CoUNTV WiCKI.oW. 



who lost a linger through niortilication induced 

 by a sting or jag of the Day Nettle. 



This species is widespread in Ireland, and is 

 especially abundant in non-calcareous soils, 

 yet hithertcj 1 have failed to lind for it any native 

 Irish name in current use. In tlie Scotch High- 

 lands (ialeopsis speciosa, a closely allied si)ecies 

 with handsome yellow flowers, is abundant. 

 According to Cameron (Gaelic Names (jf Plants) 

 this is known there by the CJaelic name An gath 

 buide (the yellow dart) and An gath mor (the 

 great dart), and is "troublesome to the reapers 

 in harvest time from its bristly character." The 

 Ulster name. Day Nettle, is no doubt an importa- 

 tion. It is in use in Yorkshire aiul on the 

 Scottish Border, and is prijbably a <,(jrrui»tion of 

 dead nettle. On the Scottish Border, as in the 

 Highlands and in Ulster, the plant is one of ill 



fame. In the Hordi-r 

 counties " labourers 

 in harvest are some- 

 times affected with 

 whitlow, and they 

 ascribe the disease 

 invariably to the 

 sting of t he Deye 

 Nettle" (Hot. Kng. 

 Border). In Knglish 

 Floras the plant is 

 usually spoken of as 

 the Hemp Nettle, 

 but this would a])- 

 |)ear to be rather a 

 book name than a 

 name actually cur- 

 rent in folksi)eech. 



Tt) retuin to the 

 <iuery wliicii heads 

 this article, can we 

 assign to the Day 

 Nettle ( ( ialeopsis 

 Tetrahit) the posses- 

 sion of any poisonous 

 jirinciple such as 

 occurs in the sting 

 of o u r CO 111 111 o n 

 nett le i As is well 

 known. 1 he stinging 

 bl'istle of the coill- 

 iiion nettle carries 

 il, poisonous secre- 

 tion which is iii- 

 j e c ted into t lie 

 wound causeil by t he 

 siiai'ii jxiint of the 

 bristle. Ill the Day 

 .Nettle the mature 

 calyx is armed with strong sharp si>ines which ai>- 

 Itear to be solid and unjointed. The steins, too. are 

 closely beset with weaker sl)ines or l)jistles which, 

 unlike the<-alyx sjiines, are jointed and appai'eiitly 

 tubulai'. The "number of jointsint hesestems spines 

 is four, the fourth or terminal joint being very 

 sharp. It may be tliat these si>inesa.re reci'ptach's 

 of some jxiisonous secretion which in some cases is 

 potent enough to give ri.se to iiiortilii-ation. so (hat 

 the ill effects of haiulling t he iilaiit should be attri- 

 buted not s(,) much to the formidable calyx spines 

 as to the weaker armature of the stem. In none 

 of the score of botanical works which I have 

 consulted can I lind any reference to the noxious 

 properties of the ))lant. Can any reader of I. (i. 

 throw further liu'ht on the subject ? — N. C. 



