57 



Tender, soft, clustered, waving ; 

 Thou wilt be dressed in the spring 

 When the rest are hiding in the l)ud. 



The Irish name soghradhach (Shaw), means amiable, lovely, 

 acceptable. The Gaelic names have the same meaning. Sobh 

 or subh, pleasure, delight, joy. Soradh^ soi7'ighj are contractions ; 

 also samharca7i. Irish : samharcain {samhas, delight, pleasure). 



"Am bi na samhraichcan s' neoinean fann." — Old Song. 

 " Gu trie anns' na bhuinn sinn a t' sbrach.'''' — MUNRO. 

 Often we gathered there the primrose. 



Welsh : briollu, — bt'iolj dignified ; alhvedd, key. '' The queenly 

 flower that opens the lock to let in summer " (Brockie). 



P. veris — Cowslip. Gaelic : muisean^ the low rascal, the 

 devil, "y^ choire mhuiseanaich,^^ a dell full of cowslips. Cattle 

 refuse to eat it, therefore farmers dislike it. Brog na cubhaig 

 (M'Kenzie), the cuckoo's shoe. Irish : seichearlan^ seicheirghin, 

 seicheirg/ilan , from seic/ie, hide or skin. It was formerly boiled, 

 and '•' an ointment or distilled water was made from it, which 

 addeth much to beauty, and taketh away spots and wrinkles of 

 the skin, sun-burnings and freckles, and adds beauty exceed- 

 ingly." The name means the ''skin-purifier." Baine bb bhuie, 

 the yellow cow's milk. Baine bo bleacht, the milk-cow's milk. 



P. auricula — Auricula. Gaelic : his na bami-rigk, the queen's 

 flower. 



P. Polyanthus — Winter primrose. Gaelic : Sobhrach gheamh- 

 raid/i. 



Cyclamen hedersefolia — Sow-bread. Gaelic : culurin (perhaps 

 from cut or cullach, a boar, and aran^ bread), the boar's bread. 



Lysimachia (from Greek Avo-co and />(,axoyu,at, I fight). 



L. vulgaris — Loose-strife. Gaelic and Irish : liis na sttkchaifie, 

 the herb of peace {s)lh, peace, rest, ease ; cdin, state of). Con- 

 aire, the keeper of friendship. The termination ^'- ah-e'^ denotes 

 an agent; and conall, friendship, love. An seileachan bnidhe, the 

 yellow willow herb. 



L. nemorum — Wood loose-strife; yellow pimpernel. Gaelic 

 and Irish : seamhair Mhuire {seamhair^ seamh, gentle, sweet, and 

 fetir, grass ; seamhrog (shamrock), generally applied to the tre- 

 foils and wood-sorrel. (See Oxalis.) Mhuire of Mary; Maire, 

 Mary. This form is especially applied to the Blessed Virgin 

 Mary. In the Mid- Highlands more frequently called Samman 

 (Stewart). Lus Cholum-cille, the wort of St Columba, the apostle 



H 



