8 9 



Aighban. It was considered in olden times an emblem of glad- 

 ness, just as Craobh-bhroin Cypress was of sadness. The leaves 

 of the red whortleberry are very like the leaves of the box, and 

 the former was the Suaicheantas of many of the branches of Clan 

 Chattan. To avoid trouble, box was frequently substituted. The 

 name is probably from aighear — merry, airy, light-hearted. So 

 the Latin name, Sempervirens — as Horace uses the term — lively 

 always green, active, etc. 



The badge of Clan Macpherson, Clan Mackintosh, and others 



Mercurialis perennis— Wood mercury. Gaelic: lus ghlinne- 



bhracadail. Lus gklinne, the cleansing wort; bracadh, suppuration, 



corruption, etc. It was formerly much used for the cure of 



wounds. Manx : creayn voddee (creayn, ague ; and voddee, dogs). 



CuCURBITACEiE. 



Cucumis sativus — Cucumber. Gaelic and Irish : cularan, 

 perhaps from culear, a bag. Latin : cuius, the skin. 



" Is cuimhne leinne an t-iasg a dh'ith sinn san Ephit gu saor ; na cularain 

 agus na mealbhucain." — Numbers xi. 5. 



We remember the fish that we did eat in Egypt freely, and the cucumber 

 and the melons. 



" 'Sa thorc nimhe ri sgath a chularain." — Macdonald. 

 His wild boar destroying his cucumbers. 

 Irish : cucumhar (O'Reilly), cucumber, said to be derived from 

 the Celtic word cue (Gaelic: mack), a hollow thing. In some 

 species the rind becomes hard when dried, and is used as a cup 

 Latin : cucutnis, a derivative from the Celtic. (See Loudon, and 

 Chamber's Latin Dictionary.) Welsh : chwerw ddwfr, water-sour. 

 C. melo^Melon. Gaelic and Irish : meal-bhuc, from mel or mal 

 (Greek, i^kov, an apple), and buc, size, bulk. According to 

 Brockie, "mealbhucain (plural), round fruit covered with warts or 

 pimples." Mileog, a small melon. 



Urticace^e. 

 Urtica — A word formed from Latin : uro, to burn. 

 IT. urens l , T iit . . , „ 



dioica I ~~ Nettle (Anglo- Saxon, ncedl, a needle). Gaelic 



and Irish : feanntag, neantbg, 1 deanntag, iontag, iuntag, by popular 



1 " Neantig, the common name for it in Ireland. In feminine nouns, the 

 first consonant (letter) after the article an (the) is softened in sound. ' An 

 feanntag' — 'f when affected loses its sound, and 'N' is sounded instead: 

 'N (f)eantog.'" — Canon Bourke. 



