NAMES OF PLANTS. 149 



Or'chis, Theophrastus. G. name for plants having a double 



tuberous root. 

 Mo'rio, Linneus. From L., ononis, a fool; Fool's Orchis, 

 an old name for the plant. 



Orig'anum, Theophrastus. G., ori, hill, and gan, joy; the 

 delight of the mountains, of which the species are 

 ornaments. Matthiolus remarks that with the ancient 

 herbalists the history of the different species of 

 Origanum is various and confused. 



Orni'thogalum or Ornithog'alum, Dioscorides. G., ornitho, 

 bird, and gal, milk. 



Orni'thopus, Gesner. G., ornitho, bird, and_po?ts, foot; from 

 the similarity of the seed-vessels to a bird's foot. 



Orobanch'e, Theophrastus. G., oroh, in this case any kind 

 of leguminous plant, and anclie, strangle ; from their 

 being parasitical on the roots of such plants. 



Osmun'da, LobeL "After the godThor (Osmunder)." — Theis. 



Ox'alis, Pliny. From G., oxy, sharp, or acid. The Oxalis 

 of Pliny is the Rumex Acetosella of Linneus, not his 

 Oxalis Acetosella. 

 AcetoseVla, Linneus. From L., acet, sharp, or sour-tasted 

 (acidus, acid or sour) ; an old officinal name. 



OxYCOc'cos. See under Vaccinium. 



Oxyr'ia, R. Brown. G., oxy, sharp, or acid; on account of 

 the acid flavour. 



Oxyt'ropis. G., oxy, sharp, and tropis, a keel; a dis- 

 tinguishing character of the genus, which has a 

 narrow-pointed keel (carina) — the name for the two 

 lower petals of a papilionaceous or butterfly -shaped 

 flower, such as the pea, which together resemble the 

 keel of a boat. 



P.eo'nia, Theophrastus. G., named in honour, it is said, of 

 the celebrated physician P^ieon, who cured the wounds 

 which the gods received during the Trojan war. 



