INTRODUCTION. 



preserved in Ale-hoof, the old traditional 

 name for Ground Ivy, a name which I 

 would explain as eel (el-) hofe ' another sort 

 of hofe/ 



What we seek is a specifical identity. 

 This is the general condition of the enquiry; 

 but there are exceptions. One such excep- 

 tion is Malva, which seems to comprise all 

 the ordinary Malvaceae ; Althaea officinalis, 

 if any, being the specific plant. Such com- 

 prehensiveness would be the natural result 

 of the community of medicinal properties 

 in these plants. It looks even as if Tussi- 

 lago had on this ground been blended with 

 Malva. It seems to me that * Malva erra- 

 tica geormen leaf and ''Malva geormen 

 letic ' both point to Tussilago Petasites with 

 its huge leaves, running growth, and mucilla- 

 gineous properties. It is some confirmation 

 that Grassmann gives ettid) as a Ger- 

 man name for Tussilago. Another excep- 

 tion is Rosa. Here we are on firm ground 

 of general identification, but we could not 

 venture to specify. I do not know whether 

 we could even say that R. canina would 

 have been to our people the typical plant, 



