36 



DlPSACE^. 



Dipsacus sylvestris ) Teasel, 



,, fullonum j Teasel, or fuller's teasel. Gaelic : 

 leadan^—liodan ; liodtm an fhucadair {leadan or liodan^ a head 

 of hair, fucadair, a fuller of cloth) ; used for raising the nap 

 upon woollen cloth, by means of the hooked scales upon the 

 heads of the fuller's teasel. Irish : iaga. Welsh : llysie y cribef, 

 carding plant, from crib, a comb, card. 



Scabiosa succisa — Devil's bit scabious. Gaelic and Irish : 

 ura bhallach [ur, fresh, new ; ballach, from ball, a globular body, 

 from its globular-shaped flower-heads, or ballach, spotted. This 

 old Celtic word is found in many languages. Greek : PaXkai. 

 German : ball) Urach mJmllaick, bottle-topped {iirach, a bottle, 

 from the form of the flower-head ; mullach, top). Odhai'ach 

 mhiillaich, a corruption of urach. {Odhar means dun or yel- 

 lowish, but the flower is blue). Grcim an diabhail (O'Reilly), 

 devil's bit, from its praemorse root, the roots appearing as if 

 bitten off. According to the old superstition, the devil, envy- 

 ing the benefits this plant might confer on mankind, bit away 

 a part of the root, hence the name. Welsh : y glafrllys, from 

 clafr, claivr, scab, mange, itch ; translation of scabiosa, from 

 scabies, the itch, which disorder it is said to cure. 



Knautia arvensis — Corn-field knautia (so named in honour 

 of C. Knaut, a German botanist) or field scabious. Gaelic : gille 

 guirniein, the blue lad. Irish : caba deasain, the elegant cap ; 

 caba, a cap or hood ; and deas, neat, pretty, elegant. Bodach 

 gorm, the blue old man. 



Composite. 



Helminthia echioides — Ox-tongue. Gaelic : boglus (Arm- 

 strong), a corruption from the Irish ; bolglus, ox-weed, from bolg, 

 a cow, an ox. A name also given to Lycopsis arvensis. Bog 

 luibh, same meaning. 



Lactuca sativa — Lettuce. Gaelic and Irish : liatiis, lettuce, 

 a corruption from lactuca (Latin : lac^ milk), on account of the 

 milky sap which flows copiously when the plant is cut ; luibh 

 inite, the eatable plant. Irish : billeog 7nath, the good leaf. 

 Welsh : gwylath, gwyfluid, lacth, milk. 



Sonchus oleraceus — Common sow - thistle, milk - thistle. 

 Gaelic and Irish : bog ghioghan, the soft thistle. Irish : giogan, 

 a thistle. Baine niuic, sow's milk. 



