45 



{ cerifolium, ^ 

 Anthricus, < vulgaris, Y — Chervil. Gaelic: costag, a 



( temulentum, J 



common name for the chervils (from cost, an aromatic plant ; 

 Greek : koo-tos, kostos, same meaning). Costag a bhaile gheatnh- 

 raidh (bhaile gheamhraidh, cultivated ground). " A. vulgaris was 

 formerly cultivated as a pot-herb " (Dr. Hooker). 



Myrrhis (from Latin myrrha ; Hebrew, mar, bitter ; Gaelic : 

 mirr — tus agus mirr, frankincense and myrrh). 



The myrrh in the Bible is a fragrant sort of gum which exudes 

 from various trees in Arabia and other places, the principal being 

 Balsamodendron Myrrha, the Balsam tree. The Hebrew Tzeri is 

 also translated balm in the English version, as in Jeremiah viii. 

 22 — " Is there no balm in Gilead?" but in the Gaelic Bible it is — 

 ■" Nach 'eil ioch-shlaint ann an Gilead?" 



M. odorata — Sweet cicely or great chervil. Gaelic : cos uisge 

 (Shaw), the scented water-plant. In Braemar it is commonly 

 called mirr. — Ed. "Scottish Naturalist." " Sweet chevril, gathered 

 •while young, and put among other herbs in a sallet, addeth a 

 marvellous good relish to all the rest " (Parkinson). 



Coriandrum (a name used by Pliny, derived from Kopvs, con's, 

 a bug, from the fetid smell of the leaves). 



C. sativum — Coriander. Gaelic : coireiman — lus a' choire, cor- 

 ruptions from the Greek. It is still used by druggists for various 

 purposes, and by distillers for flavouring spirits. 

 , (Enanthe crocata — Irish : dahou ban (Threl) (see Helleborus). 



LORANTHACE^E. 



Viscum album — Mistletoe. Gaelic: uil'-ice, a nostrum, a 

 panacea (Macdonald), all-heal. Welsh : uchelwydd. Irish : uile 

 iceach. This is the ancient Druidical name for this plant. Pliny 

 tells us — " The Druids (so they call their Magi) hold nothing in 

 such sacred respect as the mistletoe, and the tree upon which it 

 grows, provided it be an oak. ' Omnia sanantem appellantes suo 

 vocabulo' (They call it by a word signifying in their own lan- 

 guage All-heal ) And having prepared sacrifices, and feast under 

 the tree, they bring up two white bulls, whose horns are then 

 first bound ; the priest, in a white robe, ascends the tree, and cuts 



