lO 



Malvace^. 

 Latin : malvce, mallows. Gaelic : 7Haloimh, from Greek 

 /xaAax>7, malache, soft, in allusion to the soft mucilaginous pro- 

 perties of the plants, 



"A'gearradh sios maloimh laimh ris na preasaibh, agus freumlian aiteil 

 mar bhiadh." — Stuart (Job xxx. 4). 



"Who cut up mallaivs by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat." 



Welsh : meddalai, what softens. Gaelic : mil mheacan^ honey- 

 plant ; gropais or grobais (M'Donald) from Gothic, grab, English, 

 grub, to dig. The roots were dug, and boiled to obtain mucilage. 



Malva rotundifolia — Dwarf mallow. Gaelic and Irish : ucas 

 frangach, — ncas {xom Irish uc, need, whence uchd, a breast (Greek, 

 oxOyj) — the mucilage being used as an emollient for breasts — 

 2,x\di frangach, French — i.e., the French mallow. 



M. sylvestris — Common mallow. Gaelic : ucas fheadhair, wild 

 mallow. 



Althaea officinalis — Marsh-mallow. Gaelic and Irish : leatn/iad, 

 perhaps from leavihach, insipid ; fochas, itch, a remedy for the itch 

 {pchas, itch). Welsh : morJwcys, — mor, the sea, and Jwcys, phlegm- 

 producer, it being used for various pulmonary complaints. 



TlLIACE^. 



Tilia europea — Lime-tree, linden. Gaelic : craobh theile. Irish : 

 crann teile, — tcile, a corruption from tilia. Welsh : pis gwyddeji. 



HvPERICACEiE. 



Hypericum perforatum — The perforated St John's wort. 

 Gaelic and Irish : eala bhuidJie (sometimes written eala bhi), pro- 

 bably from eai (for neul), aspect, appearance, and bJwidhe or bhi^ 

 yellow. 



" An eala bhuidhe s'an noinean ban 

 S'an t'sobhrach an gleann fas, nan luibh 

 Anns am faigheadh an leighe Hath 

 Furtach fiach, do chreuch a's leon." — Collath. 

 In the glen where the St John's wort, the white daisy, and the primrose 

 grow, the grey doctor will find a valuable remedy for every disease and 

 wound. 



" The belief was common among the Caledonians that for all the 

 diseases to which mankind is liable there grows an herb some- 

 where, and not far from the locality where the particular disease 

 prevails, the proper application of which would cure it." — 

 M'Kenzie. 



