TORREYA 



NEW VuKK 

 SOTANICAt 



October, 1913. 

 Vol. 13 No. 10 



SOME LOCAL NAMES OF PLANTS 



By W. L. McAtee 



The following collection of local plant names consists chiefly 

 of those learned during field work for the Biological Survey, 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture. Most of them are not found 

 in current glossaries, and the few that are, here receive new 

 annotation. In American dictionaries of plant names, the 

 citation of localities where each name is used is too often lacking. 

 The locality is the very heart of the matter, is what gives the 

 record interest and value for the study of lingual and racial 

 peculiarities and history. It Is essential, furthermore, for trans- 

 lation of these provincial terms into scientific nomenclature 

 since the same name may have widely different meanings in 

 different localities. 



A large proportion of the names here listed are those of aquatic 



or marsh plants. Submerged aquatic plants in general are known 



among hunters and others as grass, moss or weeds. Various 



adjectival terms are used to specify the different kinds. The 



present list is indexed so that it may be used to supplement other 



glossaries. 



Characeae 



1. Chara sp. — Fine moss. New Richmond, Mich.; oyster grass, 



nigger-wool, Currituck Sound, N. C; musk grass, St. 

 Vincent Id., Fla.; skunk grass, Squibnocket, Marthas 

 Vineyard, Mass. The last two names allude to a strong 

 odor given off by a mass of the plants when freshly taken 

 from the water. It is not a little suggestive of skunk. 



PiNACEAE 



2. Pinus serotina Michx. — Rosemary pine, Santee Club, S. C. 



[No. 9, Vol. 13, of TORREYA, comprising pp. 199-223, was issued 2 September 1913] 



225 



