38 



a more handsome plant, and extremely common beside the 

 brooks and rivulets among the hills. Though there are many 

 beautiful varieties of this order on our Grampian Hills, yet few of 

 them seem to have arrested the attention of the Highlanders ; 

 only one or two have Gaelic names, but the rarest of all — Saxi- 

 frage/, cernua, found only on Ben Lawers — is now known to 

 guides by the name of Ltis Bheinn Lathur (Ben Lawers' plant). It 

 its eagerly sought after by botanists. The lovely 5. oppositifolia 

 is now frequently cultivated in Highland gardens. 



Parnassia palustris — Grass of Parnassus. Shaw gives the 

 name fion?isgoth (fionn, white, pleasant, and sgotk, a flower), " a 

 flower," but he does not specify which. Fionnan geal has also 

 been given as the name in certain districts, which seems to 

 indicate that fionnsgoth is the true Celtic name. 



Araliacste. 



Hedera — " Has been derived from hedra, a cord, in Celtic '' 

 (Loudon). 



Hedgra helix — Ivy. Gaelic: eidheann, that which holds on — 

 from (p)edenno, root, fed, to fasten (Macbain) ; written also 

 eigheann, eidhne, eitheann. 



" Spion an eitheann o'croabh.' — Old Poem. 



Tear the ivy from her tree. 

 "Eitheann nan crag." — Ossian. 

 The rock-ivy. 

 " Briseadh troimh chreag nan eidheann dlu' 



Am fuaran iir le torraman trom." — Miann A Bhaird Aosda. 

 Let the new-born gurgling fountain gush from the ivy-covered rock. 



Eidheann mu chrann — tree ivy. 



" Gach fiodh 's a' choille 



Ach eidheann mu chrann 's fiodhagach." — MacCuaraig. 



Every tree in the wood, 



But the tree ivy and bird cherry. 



Irish: Faighleadh, that which takes hold or possession. 

 Welsh: eiddew (from eiddiaw, to appropriate). Irish: aighnean 

 (from aighne, affection), that which is symbolic of affection, from 

 its clinging habit. Gort, sour, bitter — the berries being unpal- 

 atable to human beings, though eaten by birgs. Ialluinn (from 

 tall, a thong, or that which surrounds) ; perhaps from the same 

 root as helix — Greek : kiXkw (eileo, to encompass) ; also iadh- 



