173 NAMES OF PLANTS. 



writings of veiy high authorities, and must leave that 



to my readers. 



Ta'mus, Gesner. Probahly the uva taminia of Pliny, which 



name he alludes to as having been erroneously 



applied to another plant, but in his chapter on Black 



Brj'ony he does not use this name. He says : " For 



there is a black vine properly known as the ' bryonia,' 



though by some persons it is called the ' cheironia,' 



and by others the ' gynsecanthe ' or ' apronia.' It 



differs only from the one previously mentioned " 



(Bryonia dioica, or White Bryony) '' in its colour, 



which, as already stated, is black. The shoots of 



this tree, which resemble asparagus in appearance, 



are preferred by Diodes for eating to real asparagus, 



as a diuretic, and for its property of reducing the 



spleen." — Pliny Nat. Hist. Bohn. " The shoots of 



Tamus communis are still eaten in Tuscany as a 



substitute for asparagus, to which, however, they are 



inferior in quality. It is there known by the name 



of tamaro." — Note in Bohn's Ed. 



Tanace'tum, Pliny. Formerly called also G. Athanasia, 



immortality {a not, and thanatos, death. Tanacetum, 



is according to Linneus an altered form of Athanasia, 



but it seems a rather far-fetched derivation. 



Tarax'acum. See under Leontodon. 



Dens-leonis, Dodonseus. L., tooth of a lion. The French 

 name, having the same meaning, is Dent cle lion, of 

 which our name Dandelion is a corruption. The 

 allusion is to the large teeth of the leaves. 

 Tax'us, Pliny. L. for the Yew-tree, perhaps from G. toxon, 

 a bow ; as the wood is an excellent material for these 

 weapons, but the etymology of the name is uncertain. 

 Teesda'lia, R. Brown. Named in honour of Mr. Robert 

 Teesdale, a Yorkshire botanist, who died in 1804. 



