128 



The root of "An raineach ??thbr" (Pteris Aquilina) was considered 

 a valuable ingredient in love-philtres in olden times. An old Gaelic 



bard sings — 



'"Twas not the maiden's matchless beauty 

 That drew my heart anigh ; 

 Not the fern-root potion 



But the glance of her blue eye. " 

 "Fern seeds were looked upon as magical, and must be gathered 

 on midsummer eve." — Scottish and Irish superstition. 



LVCOPODIACE/E 



Lycopodium, from \vkos, a wolf, and ttovs, a foot, from a fan- 

 cied resemblance to a wolf's foot. 



L. selago — Fir club-moss. Gaelic: garbhag an t-sleibhe, the 

 rough one of the hill. "The Highlanders make use of this plant 

 instead of alum to fix the colours in dyeing. They also take an 

 infusion of it as an emetic and cathartic; but it operates violently, 

 and, unless taken in a small dose, brings on giddiness and con- 

 vulsions." — Lightfoot. According to De Theis, "Selago" is 

 derived from the Celtic sel (sealladh), sight, and iach (he). Greek : 

 tWts, a remedy, being useful for complaints in the eyes. 



Badge of Clan Macrae. 



L. clavatum, anaotinum, and the rest of this family are called 

 /us a' bhalgaire, the fox- weed. Crotalna madadh ruadh, club-moss. 

 The name crotal is given to this plant on account of its dyeing 

 properties. Woollen cloths boiled with it become blue when 

 passed in a bath of Brazil wood. Garbhag ?ian gkann. 



The badge of Clan Munro. 



Equisetace^e. 

 Equisetum, from equi/s, a horse, and seta, hair, in allusion to 

 the fine hair-like branches of the species. Those plants of this- 

 order growing in watery places are called in Gaelic and Irish, clots, 

 db-uisge, the names given to fluviatik, palusire, ramosum; and 

 those flourishing in drier places, earbull-eich, horse-tail. Clois 

 seems a contraction of db-uisge (O'Reilly) — db, a nail-pen or peg, 

 perhaps suggested by the appearance of the fruitings stems; and 

 uisge, water. Callagan srob eigh (Threl), or in our Gaelic, cuilg 

 sruth eidi, the horse's water or stream bristles. Welsh: rhawn y 

 march a fonawl, the same meaning. 



