49 



leaved plant, from the pinnate leaves and an odd terminal one, 

 forming three prominent leaflets. Irish : lus na tr\ ballan, the 

 plant with three teats (ballan, a teat); perhaps from its three 

 prominent stamens (Brockie); carthan curaigh (carthan, useful, 

 curaigh, a hero, a giant) — i.e., the useful tall plant. Welsh : y 

 llysiewyn, the beautiful plant ; y dri-aglog (dri, three, aglog, burn- 

 ing ; from its hot bitter taste). 



V. dioica — Marsh or dwarf valerian. Irish: carthan arraign, 

 from arrach, dwarf; caoirin leana, that which gleams in the 

 marsh (caoir, gleams, sparks, flames, flashes ; leana, a swamp, a 

 marsh). Although this plant is not recorded from Ireland, yet the 

 names only occur in the Irish Gaelic. 



V. celtioa — Celtic nard. Bachar. Greek: /3ai<xapis, a plant 

 having a fragrant root. 



V. nardostachys — The true spikenard. Latin : nardus spicaia, 

 i.e., the nard furnished with spikes; Gaelic: sfiiocnard (Songs of 

 Solomon, iv. 14). Both these plants were used by the ancients, 

 not only for their scent, but as a remedy for hysteria and epilepsy 

 (Lindley). 



Dipsace^e. 



Dipsacus sylvestris ) Teasel, 



,, fulloniim i Teasel, or fuller's teasel. Gaelic : 

 leadan, — liodan ; liodan an fhucadair (leadan or liodan a head 

 of hair, Jiicadair a fuller of cloth) ; used for raising the nap 

 upon woollen cloth, by means of the hooked scales upon the 

 heads of the fuller's teasel. Irish : taga. Welsh : llysie y cribef, 

 carding plant, from crib, a comb, card. Green dye was made 

 from it. 



Scabiosa succisa — Devil's bit scabious. Gaelic and Irish : 

 ura bhallach (ur, fresh, new ; ballach, from ball, a globular body, 

 from its globular-shaped flower-heads, or ballach, spotted. This 

 old Celtic word is found in many languages. Urach mhullaich, 

 bottle-topped (urach, a bottle, from the form of the flower-head ; 

 mullach, top). Odharach mhullaich, a corruption of urach. 

 (Odhar means dun or yellowish, but the flower is blue). Greim 

 an diabhail (O'Reilly), devil's bit, from its prsemorse root, the 

 roots appearing as if bitten off. According to the old superstition, 



