THE MELANCHOLY BARTZIA 



inventive power to do better. There was a naturalist who 

 quarrelled with the great French scientist Buffon. There- 

 fore he baptized as Buffonia a group of ugly, unimportant 

 little plants which had an unpleasant smell. In other cases 

 people have named plants after their sweethearts or friends. 



A British plant called Bartzia has a rather melancholy, 

 desolate appearance. It was named when the author had 

 just received the news of the death of his friend Dr. Bartsch. 



One of the most usual complaints which one hears from 

 those who are beginning to study flowers is that the Latin 

 names are so difficult and hard to remember. But they are 

 not really more difficult than the common popular names, 

 and especially those of foreign plants. Cheirostemon, for 

 instance, which means stamens like a hand, is much easier to 

 speak and to remember than Macpalxochitlquahuitl^ which is 

 its soft, meandering, Spanish-American name. Asperula 

 (little rough one) is quite as good as Squinancywort, which 

 means a herb good for quinsy (it is moreover of no good in 

 quinsy). Perhaps, however, Woodruff (which is really " wood 

 rowel,"" from the resemblance of the leaves to an old- 

 fashioned spur), or Waldmeister (master of the woods), are 

 as good names as Asperula. Then Erigeron, which means 

 " soon growing old,'' is an excellent description of the faded 

 appearance of this little weed, for which the popular name is 

 Fleabane (it has no effect upon these creatures whatsoever). 



How popular names came to be associated with particular 

 flowers is generally quite imknown. A fair number are called 

 from the diseases which they are supposed to cure. Lung- 

 wort, however, was so called because the lichen Pulmonaria 

 has a resemblance to lungs. Then in course of time people 

 began to suppose it was a cure for diseases of the lungs, 

 which it is not. 



36s 



