plant. Staoin (in the North Highlands), caorrunn staotn, juniper 

 berries (staotn, a little drinking-cup). 



The badge of Clans Murray, Ross, Macleod, and the Athole 

 Highlanders. 



J. sabina — Savin. Gaelic : samhan (Armstrong), alteration of 

 " sabina," the " sabina herba " of Pliny. Common in Southern 

 Europe, and frequently cultivated in gardens, and used medicin- 

 ally as a stimulant, and in ointments, lotions, &c. 



Taxus — According to Benfry is derived from the Sanscrit, 

 taksh, to spread out, to cut a figure, to fashion. Persian: tak. 

 Greek: ri£os, an arrow. Irish and Gaelic: tuagk, a bow made 

 of the taxos or yew, now applied to the hatchet used in place of 

 the old bow. 



T. baccata — Common yew. Gaelic and Irish : iubhar, iughar. 

 Greek : tos, an arrow, or anything pointed. Arrows were poisoned 

 with its juice ; hence in old Gaelic it was called iogk, a severe 

 pain, and ioghar (Greek, i-x^Pt ichor), pus, matter. " Perhaps of 

 Celtic origin'' (Skeat). Welsh : yw. The yew was the wood from 

 which ancient bows and arrows were made, and that it might be 

 ready at hand, it was planted in every burial ground. 



" 'N so fein, a Chuchullin, tha 'n iiir, 

 'S caoin iuthar 'tha 'fas o'n uaigh." — Ossian. 



In this same spot Chuchullin, is their dust, 

 And fresh the yew tree grows upon their grave. 



Another form of the name, eo, a grave. Sinsior, sinnsior (O'Reilly), 

 long standing, antiquity, ancestry. The yew is remarkable for its 

 long life. The famous yew of Fortingall in Perthshire, which once 

 had a circumference of 56^ feet, is supposed to be 3500 years 

 old. Sineadhfeadha (O'Reilly), protracting, extending wood. 

 Laing is not correct when, in attacking the genuineness of the 

 poems of Ossian, he asserts that the yew, so often mentioned in 

 these poems, is not indigenous. There are various places, such as 

 Gleniur, Duniur, &c, that have been so named from time 

 immemorial, which proves that the yew was abundant in these 

 places many centuries ago. 



The badge of Clan Fraser. 



