1859.] COMMON NAMES OF PLANTS. 273 



are still said to wear the Willow ; and in these lines Broom groves 

 are assigned to that unfortunate tribe for a retreat. This may- 

 allude to some old custom. We still say that a husband hangs 

 Old the broom, when his wife goes from home for a short time; 

 and on such occasions a broom-besom has been exhibited as a 

 sianal that tlie house was freed from uxorial restraint, and when 

 the master might be considered as a temporary bachelor. Broom 

 grove may signify Broom-brushes'' 



I think the editor of "^ Things not Generally Known' might 

 find a rich harvest in some of the notes to Steevens's edition of 

 Shakespeare, and also in the notable ' Notes and Queries ' — par- 

 ticularly with reference to plants. S. B. 



COMMON NAMES OF PLANTS. 



• We have been favoured with some interesting articles in your 

 periodical upon the common names of plants, some of which 

 have derived their appellations from animals, such as the horse 

 and dog, but you have said nothing about the Cat-plants, or 

 plants named after the feline race. There must have been some 

 good reason for the origin of these names, with regard to some 

 peculiarity in the plants, or their property. 



1. I find there is a Cat-pear, called, in one of our dictionaries, 

 '^a kind of Pear, ripe in October or November." 



2. Cat-mint. A herb which cats delight to eat. 



3. Cafs-tail. A red Plum ; a long, round substance that grows 

 in the winter upon Nut-trees, Pines, etc. ; also a kind of Eeed, 

 bearing a spike like a cat's tail, called also Reed-mace. 



4. CaVs-foot. A herb otherwise called Alehoof, or Catapuce, 

 mentioned by Chaucer. 



5. Cataputia. A sort of Spurge or herb. 



6. Caterpillar. A kind of plant only esteemed for its seed- 

 vessels ; they are like green-worms, or caterpillars, some bigger 

 and some lesser. 



7. Cataria. The herb Cat-mint, or Nep. 



8. Catkins, or Ragged Catkins. A kind of substance that grows 

 on Nut-trees, Birch, and Pine-trees. 



9. Catalpa. A large tree of Carolina and the South, which in 



N. S. VOL. III. 2 N 



