70 Kkble,, Aboriginal Plant Names. [voLxxxVv. 



lessly discovered the antiseptic properties of Mentha, which 

 it possesses in addition to its anaesthetic effect. 



Rum, with its variations ram, ran, run, &c., has the some- 

 what psychological meaning of to give life, make healthy, 

 besides its more ordinary meaning— to enliven, agitate, stir 

 up, or any idea in which hfc or sustained action is imi)licd. 

 It is interesting to compare Codrington's note on the significance 

 of this syllable in the Pacific Islands. It is found in mur rum, 

 the human body ; ko rum din in, well (not ill) ; ter rum ber lin, 

 stomach ; nar rum ble (ne or nier, not ; rum, life ; bal or ble, 

 to pound), white ochre, the mourning pigment ; wa reen, 

 sea (from wa, water, reen or rum, lively), and many others. 

 Kur ran ung an, Dwarf Rice Flower, Pimelea humilis, R. Brown, 

 is from kur, long ; rum, to make lively, hence to weave ; ung, 

 to move, direct ; an, adjectival ending. The meaning is "to 

 use quickly a long fibre " — a reference to the l)ark, " an ex- 

 cellent fibre of great strength." Compare kur ra wan, a flag 

 spht with the nail for weaving baskets and mats. 



Bur iim beet (ber rum bik), Common Flat Pea, Plaiylobium 

 obtusangulum. Hooker, comes from ber, to wander ; rum, to live ; 

 bik, earth and water. The meaning given by Chauncy for a 

 word consisting of the same syllables in the same sequence 

 is " muddy water " ; it refers to Lake Burrumbeet and 

 belongs to one of the Ararat languages. As showmg how the 

 monosyllables group themselves in their various shades about 

 a general meaning, it is worthy of note that in its application 

 to the Common Flat Pea, bur um beet means " to wander 

 growing on the ground " — a reference to its procumbent habit ; 

 but that, in the same language, if appHed to a lake, it would 

 have exactly the same significance as that given by Chauncy. 

 Be et may, in some cases, be an elision of bo curt, as be et, a lx)X 

 (eucalypt), seemingly is. 



Lup, with its variations lurp, lourk. Ink, lak, led, cS:c., cS:c., 

 means strong, to give strength to, grow hardy, tough, &c., &c. 

 It occurs in lourk, calf of the leg ; tal luk ar nup, industrious ; 

 kal lup, a fork (from kal, a point, and luk, strong) ; tou lup, 

 proud {i.e., a warrior) ; and woo lerp (wil lup), Woolly Tea- 

 Tree, Lcptospcnmtm lanigcriim. Smith, the wood of which was 

 commonly used for weapons, esix^cially the mongile or double- 

 barbed spear, which required a " hard, tough timl)cr." Wool 

 or wil means, in this case, a protection, and suggests that the 

 wood of the Woolly Tea-Tree was also used for shields. 



Tal and its variations, dal, daal, tool, &c., &c., signify a 

 swamp, and, in its botanical sense, the sedges and all plants 

 living in or near water or on a wet or i>eaty soil. Tal lak tal lak, 

 Trailing Eryngium, Eryngium vesiculosum, Lal)ill., and da lurp 



