224 Some Local Plant Names. 



Sessions of 1904-5 and 1910-11, the first appearing in X.S., Vol. 

 XVII., part 5, and the second will be found in the last issue — 

 N.S., Vol. XXIII., pp. 195-201. 



I fear on this occasion that I have little to add, as my oppor- 

 tunities of collecting the colloquial plant names are not now so 

 frequent as before. 



A common garden plant, frequently seen in gardens, both 

 old and new, is the Aconitum, generally known here as the 

 Monkshood, a name current over a great part of the country. It 

 is so called because of the resemblance of the flower to the cowl 

 of a monk. A variant is that of Friar's Cap ; still another, quite 

 appropriate also, being Helmet Flower. A Scottish name which 

 I have not heard in our own district is Luckie's Mutch. The last 

 British name is that of Wolf's Bane, the plant being said to be 

 effectual in warding off wolves, or, at least, in poisoning them. 

 In passing, I may mention that this is well known as a poisonous 

 plant, and that a man of my acquaintance once informed me that 

 it was so powerful that if he worked at it he felt his heart slightly 

 affected. I cannot corroborate the statement. This plant has 

 similar names to most of the above in different European lan- 

 guages, that of an equivalent to Monkshood being the most 

 common. 



I wonder if any one in this neighbourhood has ever heard the 

 name of "Guild Tree " applied to the Berberis, which I have 

 always heard called the Barberry ? That of Guild Tree is appar- 

 ently a corruption of Gold or Gilt Tree. It is called Yellow Tree 

 in some parts of England. Is Barberry simply a corruption of 

 the botanical name of Berberis? We are told that the name of 

 Berberis is originally derived from the Arabic word, signifying 

 hollow, on account of the hollow leaf; but, according to others, 

 it means wild. 



Coltsfoot is the ordinary term in use, so far as I am aware, 

 for Tussilago Farfara ; but I believe that in different parts it is 

 called Foalsfoot, Son afore the Father, Assesfoot, Horsehoof, 

 Bullsfoot, Cowheave (probably a corruption of Cowhoof), and 

 Dovedock. Names of similar meaning are given to it in some 

 of the continental countries. Sliellago is also employed here. 



I have been rather interested in having found more colloquial 

 Scottish and English names for the Goosegrass, or Robin-run-the- 

 hedge, than I had expected, and additional to those I have pre- 



