3« 



" Tlia do phòg mar ùbhlan garaidh, 

 'S tha do hhraighe mar an neoinean." — M'Intyre, Oian Gaoil. 

 Thy kiss is like the apples of the garden, 

 And thy bosom like the daisy. 



" If it was used by tlie French for rubbing the breasts, nothing 

 seems more likely than that it would be also so used by the 

 Celts of Ireland and Scotland, which would at once give it the 

 name oi diiHeog bragkad" (Fergusson). 



Arctium — Celtic : art, a bear. Greek : apKTo<;, from tlie 

 rough bristly hair of the frtiit. 



A. lappa — Burdock. Gaelic and Irish : siiirichcan suirich, the 

 foolish wooer {siiirichc, a fool ; suiric/i, a lover or wooer); sei/rean 

 sia'ric/i, affectionate wooer {seirc, affection). Mac-a)i-dogha,^ 

 the mischievous plant {mac-an for meacan, a plant) ; doghadh, 

 mischievous (Shaw). Meacaii-tobhach-dubh, the plant that seizes 

 {tobhach, wrestling, seizing, inducing; diibh, black, or large). 

 Leadan liosda {kadan, a head of hair ; Hosda, stiff). Irish : copag 

 tuaithil, the ungainly docken ; ceosa/i, the bur, or fruit. 



"Mar c/hvsan air sgiathan fhirein." — OssiAN. 

 Like bur clinging to the eagle's wing. 



\\'elsh : cyughau, closely packed. C^-ibe y bleidd, wolfs comb. 

 Caca mud, puck's dung. Lappa, from Celtic, ilap (Loudon). 

 Gaelic (for hand) Idmh. Welsh : llamh. 



Carduus heterophyllus — Melancholy thistle. Gaelic : duas 

 ail fiicidh, the deer's ear. 



C. palustris — Marsh-thistle. Gaelic : diiaran leana {diiaran, 

 a thistle ; ican, a swamp) ; 



" Lubadh dual an mu Lora nan sion." — OssiAN. 

 Bending the thistle round Lora of the storms. 



C/i/aran, a general name for all the thistles. Welsh : ys galh'/i. 



C. lanceolatus — Spear-thistle. Gaelic : an diiaran deilgncadi, 

 the prickly thistle {ddlgne, prickle-thorn). 



C. arvensis — Corn-thistle. Gaelic : aighcannadi, the valiant 

 one (from aighe, stout, valiant). 



C. marianus — Mary's thistle. Gaelic : fof/ian/ian beannuidite. 

 Irish : fothannan beanduighte (Latin : benedidus), the blessed 

 thistle (so called from the superstition that its leaves are stained 

 with the Virgin Mary's mìlk) ; fothaimaìi, fogh/ian, foundan, a 

 thistle. Danish : /on, thistle down. 



^ Dogha also means burnt or singed. It was formerly burned to procure 

 from its ashes a white all<.aliue salt, as good as the best potash. 



