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tive—the plant naming itself by some marked feature. Others are 
connected with religious ceremonies, or are attached to the name of 
some Saint whose day in the calendar coincides with their time of 
flowering. A few may be said to have a poetical or romantic idea 
underlying them, but they are certainly very few. Lastly, there 
are a few names which have been popularized by the great poets, 
who took them directly from classical sources without any definite 
idea what flower they represented or whether they were really the 
names of existing flowers at all. 
Those which are seemingly poetic, are but matter of fact 
corruptions. The Artemisia abrotanum was called ‘“ Lad’s love” 
because its ashes were used in an ointment to promote the 
growth of the beard. All plants called ‘sweet’ have an aromatic 
odour; ‘‘ Sweet Alison”? is merely a corruption of Alyssum; 
“Sweet Cicely’ refers to no village maiden, but to a Greek word 
which was applied to some umbelliferous plant. ‘‘ Sweet 
William” is Sweet Willie, coming no doubt from the French 
eillet, diminutive of wil, ‘an eye,’ and being a mere descriptive 
epithet of Dianthus barbatus. Herb True-love is from Danish 
‘“‘trolovet,” betrothed, the arrangement of the leaves being like 
the quartering of awife’s armorial bearings on her husband’s 
shield. If there is any poetry in Daisy (Day’s eye) it is probably 
due to Chaucer. ‘‘ Eyebright”’ is due to the legend that the linnet 
uses it to clear its sight. ‘‘ Heart’s ease” is only a “cordial” for 
the stomach, and heals no broken heart. It was anciently applied 
to the wall-flower. Amaranthus caudatus got its name of “‘ Love 
hes bleeding” from the similarity of its two first syllables to the 
Latin Amor, and to the crimson stream of its spike of flowers. 
** Forget-me-not’’ has been the name (in many languages) of many 
other plants besides Myosotis palustris. When the name became 
attached to the Water Scorpion-grass, the legend of the drowned 
lover was probably connected with the name. 
Many plant names indicate the use to which they are put— 
Gout weed, Dyer’s rocket, Pestilence weed, Fuller’s teasel, Mat 
weed, Pile wort, &c. Lavender, used to scent newly washed linen, 
gets it name from Javare, to wash. 
The doctrine of signatures, one of the most curious supersti- 
tions that hang around the healing art, is responsible for many 
names. It was imagined that the Creator had impressed upon the 
plant some outward sign or mark of its use in curing disease. The 
spotted leaves of Lung wort showed it to be a specific for tubercu- 
losis; the scaly pappus of Scabious pointed to its use for leprous 
disease; the knotty tubers of Fig wort were useful in scrofulous 
complaints such as that known as ‘ficus’ or the fig disease. Ceterach 
officinarum was first called Spleen wort from the shape of the lobes 
of the froud. So Water Wound-wort had sword shaped leaves to 
