28 



Parnassia palustris — Grass of Parnassus. Shaw gives the 

 w^xviQ fionnsgoth {Jtonn, white, pleasant, and sgoth, a flower), *'a 

 flower," but he does not specify which. Finonati geal has also 

 been given as the name in certain districts, which seems to indi- 

 cate i\\2X fionnsgoth is the true Celtic name. 



ARALIACEiE. 



Hedera — " Has been derived from hedra^ a cord, in Celtic " 

 {Loudon). 



Hedera helix — Ivy. Gaelic : eidheann, that which clothes or 

 covers (from eid, to clothe, to cover) ; written also eigheann (eige, 

 a web), eidkne, eitheann. 



" Spionn an eitheann o'craobli." — Old Poem. 



Tear the ivy from the tree. 

 " Eitheann nan crag." — OssiAN. 



The rock-ivy. 



" Briseadh tro chreag nan eidheann dlu' 

 Am fuaran iir le torraman trom," — MiANN A Bhard Aosda. 

 Let the new-born gurgh'ng fountain gush from the ivy-covered rock. 



Faithleadgh, Irish : faithla/i, that which takes hold or possession. 

 Welsh : iiddew (from eiddiaw, to appropriate). Irish : aighneami 

 (from aighne, aflection), that which is symbolic of affection, from 

 its clinging habit. Gort, sour, bitter — the berries being unpal- 

 atable to human beings, though eaten by birds. lalluin (from 

 iall^ a thong, or that which surrounds ); perhaps from the same 

 root as helix. Greek : ctAcw {eileo^ to encompass) ; also iadh- 

 shial, the twig that surrounds, — a name likewise given to the 

 honeysuckle {Lonicera periclymenum), because it twines like the 

 ivy — 



** Mar iadh-shlat ri stoc aosda." 

 Like an ivy to an old trunk. 

 An gdfh, a spear, a dart. 



The badge of the Clan Gordon. 



CORNACE^. 



Cornus (from Latin : cornu, a horn). Gaelic : corn. French : 

 come. " The wood being thought to be hard and durable as 

 horn." 



Cornus sanguinea — Dogwood, cornel-tree. Gaelic : coin-bhil, 

 dogwood ; cotibhaiscne, dog-tree {baiscne, Irish, a tree). Irish : 

 crann coirneL cornel-tree. 



