93 



Sgeamh means reproach, and sgianik or sgcimh^ beauty, orna- 

 ment ; '' 7ia clock" bf the stones. The second idea seems, at 

 least in modern times, to be more appropriate than the first, 

 especially as the term was applied to the really beautiful oak- 

 fern. 



** Mu chinneas luibhean 'us an sgeimhy 

 How the flowers and the ferns grow. 



Reidh raineach, — reidh, smooth, plain. Raineach nan crag, the 

 rock-fern. Mearlag (in Lochaber), perhaps from mear or 

 meur, a finger, from a fancied resemblance of the pinnules to 

 fingers. 



P. Dryopteris — Oak-fern. Gaelic and Irish : sgeamh dkaraich 

 (O'Reilly), the oak-fern. No Gaelic name is recorded for the 

 beech-fern {P. Phegopteris). 



Blechnum spicant — Hard fern. The only Gaelic name sup- 

 plied for this fern is " an raineach chruaidh,'^ hard fern. It is 

 impossible to say whether this is a translation or not. Being a 

 conspicuous and well-defined fern, it must have had a Gaelic 

 name. 



Cystopteris fragilis — Bladder-fern. Gaelic : friodh raineach, 

 or frioth fhraiiieach, — ^^frioth,'* small, slender. The tufts are 

 usually under a foot long ; stalks very slender. 



Polystichum aculeatum, lobatum, and angulare — Gaelic : 

 tbhig (Rev. A. Stewart), the name by which the shield-ferns 

 are known in the West Highlands. This name may have ref- 

 erence to the medicinal drinks formerly made from the pow- 

 dered roots being taken in water as a specific for worms (see 

 Z. filix-mas\ from ibh, a drink. French : ivre. Latin : ebriiis. 



P. Lonchitis — Holly fern. Gaelic : raineach-chuilinn (Stewart), 

 holly fern, known by that name in Lome ; also colg raineach, 

 in Breadalbane and elsewhere. For cuileaiin and colg, see Ilex 

 aquifolium. 



Lastrea Oreopteris — Sweet mountain fern. Gaelic : crim- 

 raijieach (Stewart). Most likely from creini, a scar, the stalks 

 being covered with brown scarious scales. In some places the 

 name/^//(? raineach is given, ixovcs. faile, a scent, a smell. This 

 species may be easily distinguished by the minute glandular 

 dots on the under side of the fronds, from which a fragrant 

 smell is imparted when the plant is bruised. 



L. filix-mas — Male fern. Gaelic and Irish : marc raineach, 

 horsfe-fern. Marc. Welsh : march. Old High German : jnarah, 



