OF BRITISH PLANTS. 89 



far as they can be written with Greek letters. We may 

 conclude from this identity, and from the great quantity 

 of pipe-sticks of it exported every year from Turkey, that 

 the name originated in that country. The Dalmatians 

 will have Italianized wischna into viscina, and under this 

 name it will have been conveyed to Italy, and thence into 

 France, where by the usual process of changing v or w to 

 gu, and dropping the sound of s and sc before n, viscina 

 became guisne, and crossed into England as gean. But the 

 Italians will have regarded viscina as a diminutive in ina 

 from viscia, and have replaced it, from some motive of 

 euphony, by visciola, its present name, as they have 

 formed buciuola from biscia, pesciuolo from pesce, etc., and 

 hence the German weichsel, which will not only represent 

 the same tree, but the same word, as our Gean. It is to 

 be observed that the " Bird cherry " is not this species, 

 although this is the one called so by botanists in Latin 

 systematic works. Prunus avium, L. 



GENTIAN, from some Illyrian king named Gentius, 



Gentiana, L. 



GERANIUM, Gr. yepaviov, from yepavos, crane, the 

 cranesbill, from the shape of the seed vessel, a genus that 

 once included the Pelargonia, which in popular language 

 are still called so, G. molle, pratense, etc. 



GERARD, see HERB GERARD. 



GERMAN MADWORT, Du. meed, madder, and wort, root, so 

 called from the red dye yielded by its roots, and its being 

 used in Germany, Asperugo procumbens, L. 



GERMANDER, Fr. gamandree, from L. chamcedrys, by in- 

 sertion of an n before d for euphony, Gr. x a f j ' al > ground, 

 and Spvs, oak, so named from the fancied likeness of its 

 leaves to those of an oak, a name usually given to the 



Teucrium Chamsedrys, L. 



,, WATER-, Teucrium Scordium, L. 



WOOD-, Teucrium Scorodonia, L. 



