58 FAMILIAR WILD FLOWERS. 



of the genus, the V. Chameedrys or germander speedwell, 

 and any of our readers taking the trouble to compare the 

 two plates will at once see a strong family resemblance in 

 the shape of the blossoms, the arrangement of the leaves 

 in pairs, and several other minor points. We have already, 

 in our comments on the germander speedwell, thrown as 

 much light on the generic title Veronica as the case will 

 permit, and it now only remains to us to see what rays can 

 be brought to bear on the somewhat peculiar-looking specific 

 name Beccabunga. Any attempt to resolve it into any 

 Greek or Latin root is hopeless, but we must not, therefore, 

 either in this or in any other floral name, assume that it is 

 merely an arbitrary title a title possessing no inherent 

 fitness to justify its application to the special plant to which 

 it is united, a name conveying in itself no increase of know- 

 ledge, nor any hint of suggestive association, but merely 

 distinctive of a particular species by general usage and 

 adoption. Examples of this class of name are not nu- 

 merous, and even when we encounter a word that after 

 long investigation baffles all our efforts to arrive at a satis- 

 factory conclusion, we must not forget that though the 

 great majority of the scientific terms employed are Latin 

 or Greek in their origin, others are Celtic, Scandinavian, 

 or Oriental ; while even amongst the more familiar English 

 names some are obsolete, refer to customs long gone by, or 

 have lost their original meaning through ignorant and 

 careless repetition and modification. Datura, the generic 

 name of the thorn-apple, tried by any classical standard, 

 will be pronounced meaningless, its derivation really being 

 from the Arab name Tatorah; and in the same way Nnphar, 

 the generic name of the yellow water-lily, is derived from 

 the Arabic word Naufar. Other examples are Betula, 



