94 



a horse. This fern has been celebrated from time immemorial 

 as a specific for worms ; the powdered roots, taken in water, 

 were considered an excellent remedy. Irish : raineach-inadra^ 

 dog-fern. 



L. spinulosa, and the ahied species dilatata and F(B?nsecn, are 

 known by the name raiiieach nan rodainn^ from Latin, rodo. 

 Sanscrit : rad^ to break up, split, gnaw, — the rat's fern, in Mor- 

 ven. Mull, and Lewis. *' Dr Hooker is mistaken as to the 

 range of this fern, as it is extremely abundant here, at least in 

 the form oi dilatata'' — (Lewis Correspondent) .^ The name rat's 

 fern, from its commonness in holes, and the haunts of rats. 



Athyriumfilix-foemina— Lady-fern. Gaelic and Irish: raineach 

 Mhuire, Mary's fern, — Muire, the Virgin Mary, Our Lady ; fre- 

 quently occurring in plant-names in all Christian countries. 



Asplenium. — From Greek : a, privative, and (nrXrjv, the 

 spleen. 



A. Trichomanes — Black spleenwort. Gaelic and Irish : di}d/i 

 chasach, dark-stemmed. Lus na seilg, from sealg, the spleen. 

 This plant was formerly held to be a sovereign remedy for all 

 diseases of this organ, and to be so powerful as even to de- 

 stroy it if employed in excess. Lus a chorrain. Urthalmhan 

 (O'Reilly), — ur, green, and talamh^ the earth. As diibh chasach 

 is the common name for Trichomanes — probably ?//- thalmhan 

 was applied to A. viride. Failtean Jionn, see A. capilltis- 

 Veneris. 



A. Ruta-muraria — Rue fern. Gaelic : ruehhallaidh, wall-rue. 



A. Adian turn- nigrum — Gaelic : an raiiieach uaijie, the green 

 fern. Irish : craobh mac fiadh (O'Reilly), — craobh, a tree, a plant, 

 and miicfiadh^ wild pig or boar. 



Scolopendrium vulgare — Hart's- tongue fern. Gaelic : creamh 

 mac fiadh, or in Irish, creafnh fiam muc fiadh. Wild boar's wort, 

 a name also given to Asparagus. 



Pteris aquilina — Common brake. Gaelic : an raineach mhor, 

 the large fern. Raith (see Polypodium). The brake is used for 

 various purposes by the Gaels, such as for thatching cottages ; 



^ My well-informed correspondent also remarks : '* I may mention one 

 or two other plants, regarding which Ur Hooker's information is slightly 

 out. His Salix repens is very common here and in Caithness, though absent 

 in at least some parts further south. Utrkulai-ia mino?' can easily be found 

 in quantities near the Butt of Lewis ; and Scutellaria minor, which he allows 

 no further than Dumbarton, grows equally far north, although all I am 

 aware of could be covered by a table-cloth. Another interesting plant, 

 Eryngium maritimum, grows in a single sandy bay on our west coast." 



