136 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. XXIII. 



ARE POPULAR NAMES FOR OUR NATIVE PLANTS 

 DESIRABLE? 



By F. G. a. Barnard. 



{Read hefore the Field Naturalists^ Olub of Victoria, \Oth Sept., 1906.) 



For the title of the paper I desire to submit to you to-night I 

 have chosen the query — " Are Popular Names for our Native 

 Plants Desirable ? " to which I at once answer, " Yes." But— and 

 here comes my difficulty — how, in drawing up a list, is anything 

 like unanimity to be arrived at ? 



The question is one that I have thought over for years, but 

 until lately I have not seen any practical way of taking the matter 

 in hand. But, before taking you into my confidence, let me 

 indulge in the usual introduction with which an author may 

 preface his remarks. 



Some twenty years ago, not very long after our Club was 

 established, a lengthy article bearing on the subject of my paper 

 appeared in the Argus, with indications that its author was at 

 the time a member of this Club : who the writer was I never 

 learned, and if he is still a member perhaps I may venture 

 to ask his aid in furthering the object which he then had in 

 view. 



The gist of the article was this — the writer, who had some 

 knowledge of botany, was expecting the arrival from the old 

 country of a college friend, who, he knew, would at once want to 

 see our native flowers, so to refresh his memory and make 

 himself perfect in the plants around us he attended some of the 

 Club excursions to Sandringham, and by means of specimens and 

 names obtained from the leaders, managed to get a fair grasp of 

 our heath flora. So, when his friend arrived, and, as anticipated, 

 put the request — " Let me see some of your wild flowers," he at 

 once consented, and suggested a trip to Sandringham. This 

 duly took place, and one of the first flowers to attract his friend's 

 attention was Gompholohium huegelii. " What do you call this ? " 

 he said. " Oh ! Gompholohium htiegelii," replied the writer of the 

 article, proud of his knowledge. " I don't want the Latin name," 

 replied his friend ; " what do the folks hereabouts call it ? " 

 " They don't call it anything at all," replied the writer. " But 

 surely there's a popular name for such a pretty flower," said his 

 friend. " Oh, yes," was the reply^" Huegel's Gompholobium." 

 " Good heavens ! " he cried, " is this the way you treat your 

 flowers ? " 



Then the writer espied in the distance a plant of Correa, so 

 he hurried on, and presented his friend with a branch of Native 

 Fuchsia. He looked at it and said—" Well, this is better, but 

 surely it's not a fuchsia ; " and, after a slight examination, said — 

 " Well, this is as much like a fuchsia as I am a rose." Further 



