50 FAMILIAR WILD FLOWERS. 



yellow from the abundance of these flowers, it is evident 

 that a very considerable deterioration of the pasturage 

 must for the time being ensue. The botanical name of 

 the present species is Rammculus bidbosus. The generic 

 name applied to these plants is derived from the Latin 

 word for a frog rana, and refers to the favourite habitat of 

 most of the species damp low-lying meadows, water- 

 courses, the edges of streams, or, in one case, the R. aqiiatilis, 

 the actual mid-stream itself, localities where these plants 

 flourish and frogs abound. The idea seems perhaps a little 

 far-fetched, but it is altogether too late now to raise such 

 objection, as the term has been employed since the time 

 of Pliny, who seems to have first used it, and has con- 

 sequently received the sanction of ages. The specific 

 name bulbosus refers to the bulb-like swelling at the base 

 of the stem ; it is, however, only bulb-like, it is not a true 

 bulb. 



In France the plant is the jaunet, a name that the 

 brilliancy of the colour of the blossom, either taken indi- 

 vidually or seen in the mass, renders very expressive. 

 From the commonness of the plant almost everywhere 

 (though in the North of Scotland it is unknown) it has 

 received a great number of local names, of these perhaps 

 frogs-foot and gold-cup are most expressive, frogs-foot 

 having reference to the form of the leaves, while gold-cup 

 is sufficiently expressive of the form and colour of the 

 blossom. In botanical works this species is often called 

 crow-foot, from a fancied resemblance to the foot of a bird 

 in the form of the foliage. It is very curious to notice 

 how largely these fancied resemblances have been sug- 

 gestive in botanical nomenclature. As examples of the 

 more obvious names we may instance the arrow-head, the 



