H4 



Specimens of this plant have also been supplied with- the Gaelic 

 name moran labelled thereon, and in another instance muran. 

 These names mean the plants with tapering roots ; the same 

 signification in the Welsh, moron, a carrot. (See Muirneach — 

 Ammophila arenaria). 



J. maritimus and acutus — Sea-rush. Irish: meithan (O'Reilly). 

 Meith, fat, corpulent. J. acutus (the great sea-rush) is the largest 

 British species. 



Luzula — Name supposed to have been altered from Italian, 

 lucciola, a glow-worm. It was called by the ancient botanists 

 gramen luxulx (Latin, lux, light). 



L. sylvatica — Wood-rush. Gaelic: luachair choille, the bright 

 grass or rush of the wood. The Italian name lucciola is said to be 

 given from the sparkling appearance of the heads of flowers when 

 wet with dew or rain. Learman (Stewart), possibly from lear or 

 leir, clear, discernible ; a very conspicuous plant, more of the 

 habit of a grass than a rush, the stalk rising to the height of more 

 than two feet, and bearing a terminal cluster of brownish flowers, 

 with large light-yellow anthers. 



CyPERACEjE. 



Shoenus (from \otvos or o-\oivos, a cord in Greek). From 

 plants of this kind cords or ropes were made. 



S. nigricans — Bog-rush. Gaelic : stimhean (Armstrong). Irish: 

 seimhin (seimh, smooth, shining — the spikelets being smooth and 

 shining: or which is more likely, from siobh or siobhag, straw — 

 hence sioman, a rope made of straw or rushes; the Greek name 

 crxoivos for the same reason). 



Scirpus, sometimes written sirpus (Freund), seems to be cognate 

 with the Celtic cirs, cors, a bog-plant; hence Welsh, corsfruyn, a 

 bulrush (Gaelic, curcais) Many plants of this genius were like- 

 wise formerly used for making ropes. (Cords, Latin, chorda; 

 Welsh, cord; Gaelic and Irish, corda; Spanish, cuerda. 



S. maritimus— Sea-scirpus. Gaelic and Irish : brbbh. Name 

 from brb, bra, or brath, a quern, a hand mill. The roots are 

 large and very nutritious for cattle, and in times of scarcity 

 were ground down in the muileann brath (French, moulin a bras), 

 to make meal ; bracan, broth — hence bracha, malt, because pre- 



