248 LETTERS TO MARCO xxxvi 



Gerard still believes in the virtues of the 

 plant, and appends useful receipts, whereas, 

 though the modern botanists probably no 

 longer believe in the virtues of the plant, 

 they still retain its repulsive Latin name. 

 Gerard's book is of great use in determining 

 and explaining the meaning of the old English 

 names that are still used for many of our 

 plants ; as, for instance, in the apparently odd 

 name for a rather rare water plant, "the 

 water violet" {Hottonia palustris), the bloom 

 of which is not in the least like the ordinary 

 violet either in shape or growth. This plant 

 is really of the primrose family ; but the 

 blossom grows somewhat in the manner of 

 the stocks of our garden, which in Gerard are 

 often termed violets, as well as are the gilly- 

 flowers. It is no doubt .on account of the 

 resemblance of the flowers that the name 

 originated. Gerard describes the flowers of 

 the water violet as "like unto Stocke Gillo- 

 flowers, with some yellownesse in the middle." 

 This confusion of nomenclature is thus further 



