39 



" Leannaihh am foghnan.'''' — OssiAN. 

 Pursue the thistle-down. 



*' 'Feadh nan raointean lorn ud, 

 Far nach cinn xvxfotJiiiainy 

 Among tliese bare hillsides, 

 Where the thistles will not grow. 



M'Donald has another name, cluaran oir, the gold thistle. 



" Gaoir bheacliainn bhui 's ruadha 

 Ri deoghladh chluaran oir^ 

 The buzzing of yellow and red wasps 

 Sucking the golden thistle. 



It is uncertain to which thistle, if any, the reference is made, 

 unless it be to Carlina vulgaris, the carline thistle. Cluaran, 

 occasionally means a daisy, Chrysantheimun segetuui, one of its 

 names being liathan. 



'^ Liath chluaran nam magh." — OssiAN. 

 The hoary thistle (or daisy) of the field. 



Here the reference is evidently to the corn-marigold ; in all 

 probability M 'Donald refers to the same flower, and not to any 

 thistle (see Chrysanthemuvi segetum). 



The thistle, the badge of the Clan Stewart. 



Cynara scolymus — Artichoke. Gaelic : farusgag, from far usg, 

 the inner rind, the part used being the lower part of the recep- 

 tacle of the flower, freed from the bristles and seed-down, and 

 the lower part of the leaves of the involucre. Bliosan, not un- 

 likely to be a contraction from bli-liosan, — Mi {bligh), milk (with 

 its florets milk was formerly coagulated) ; and lios, a garden. 

 These names apply also to Helianthus tiibtrostis, Jerusalem arti- 

 choke, especially to the tubers ; and plur na greine, to the flower, 

 from the popular error that the flower turns with the sun. 



Centaurea nigra — Knapweed. Gaelic: cnapan dubh, the black 

 knob (from cnap, a knob ; Welsh, Armoric, and Irish : cfiap ; 

 Saxon: cncep ; Danish cnap.) Mullach dubh, the black top. 

 Irish ; niansgoth, the daughter's flower {iiian, a daughter ; sgoth, 

 a flower). 



C. cyanus — Blue-bottle. Gaelic : gorman, the blue one. In 

 some places, giile-guiri?iean, the blue lad. Curachd chubhaig, the 

 cuckoo's cap or hood. Irish : atrac na cuig, the same meaning. 

 Welsh : penlas wen, blue headed beauty. 



Artemisia vulgaris — Mugwort. Gaelic : Hath his, the grey 

 weed. Mbr mania (Shaw), the large demure-looking plant {tnor. 



