56 POPULAR NAMES 



bush- or wild-apple, in the Grete Herball called a " Wood- 

 crabbe," and according to Turner (b. ii. p. 47), " in the 

 north countre a Scarb-tre," Fr. in Cotgrave, pomme de 

 boys, Pyrus Malus, L. 



CRAB-GRASS, from its growing on the sea-shore, where 

 crabs abound, and being supposed to afford them food, 



Salicornia herbacea, L. 



CRAKE-BERRY, the crow-berry, O.N. kraka, a crow, 

 whence Da. krake-bar, from its black colour, or, accord- 

 ing to Dr. Johnston, in East. Bord. from crows eating it 

 greedily, Empetrum nigrum, L. 



CRAMBLING ROCKET, a spurious crambe, or mustard (as 

 vetchling is a spurious vetch), with the leaves of rocket, 

 Sisymbrium officinale, L. 



CRANBERRY, from its fruit being ripe in the spring, when 

 the crane returns, Da. tranebar, from trane, a crane, a 

 name of late introduction, for Lyte calls them Marrish 

 Whorts and Fenberries, and says (b. vi. c. 11) that " there 

 is none other name for them known," 



Vaccinium Oxycoccos, L. 



CRANE'S-BILL, from the form of the seed vessel, 



Geranium, L. 



CRAP, or CROP, buck-wheat, related to L. carpere. Crop 

 in our old writers means a head of flowers, a cyma, and 

 may have been given to this plant, as being thus distin- 

 guished from the cereal grains, which have no such con- 

 spicuous flowers. There is probably some prefix lost from 

 the word. Polygonum Fagopyrum, L. 



CRAPPE, in some works, for no obvious reason, applied 

 to the ray-grass, Lolium perenne, L. 



CRAZY, or CRAISEY, in Wiltshire and the adjoining 

 counties, the buttercup, apparently a corruption of Christ's 

 eye, L. oculus Christi, the medieval name of the marigold, 

 which, through the confusion among old writers between 

 caltha and calendula, has been transferred to the marsh 



