148 NAMES OF PLANTS. 



writes the old name Plielanclrium ; which agrees with 

 an etymology I have hazarded in Bees' Cyclop£edia, 

 V. 27, from j^heleo, to be treacherous, alluding to the 

 poisonous nature of the plant." — Smith, Eng. Fl. 



CEnothe'ea, or (Enoth'eka, Theophrastus. G., ceno, wine 

 and thera, searching, catching, or acquiring; "the 

 roots having a vinous scent when dried : they were 

 also formerly eaten as incentives to wine drinking, as 

 olives are ; hence the name was changed from onagra, 

 the ass food, to osnotliera, the wine trap. We are 

 not sure that the change was necessary." — E. B. 



Onob'eychis, or Onobry'chis, Dioscorides. G., ono, ass, 

 and hrycli, bray ; it is said from the animal braying 

 to get at it. 



Ono'nis, Theophrastus. G., ono, ass; because the ass eats it. 



Onopor'dum, Pliny. G., ono, ass, and jperd, crepitation ; 



from the carminative effects (according to Pliny) 



upon asses when they eat of it. 



Acantliium, Dioscorides. G., has been supposed to be the 



acantliion of Dioscorides, from acanth, thorn or prickle- 



Ophioglos'sum, Tragus. G., ophio, serpent, and gloss, 

 tongue; the Adder's Tongue Fern. The allusion 

 is to the shape of the fertile frond, which is also 

 the origin of the English name. 



Oph'rys, Pliny. G., oplirys, the eyebrow. Pliny includes 

 it, among some others, to apply to the hair : " Lysi- 

 machia imparts a blonde tint to the hair, and hyperi- 

 con, otherwise called corison, makes it black. The 

 same, too, with ophrys," &c. The Ophrys of Pliny 

 seems by his description to be our Tway-blade 

 {Listera ovata). The name was applied to this 

 genus by Linneus. Tlieis remarks that the calyx 

 in the greater part of these plants resembles the 

 eyebrow by its arched form. 



