£cfo=(!Fnglantrs Parities* 139 



Black Henbane} 



Wormwood? 



Sharp pointed Dock? 



Patience? 



the plant in Northern languages — as Wcgerich and Wegetritt of the German, 

 Weegblad and Weegbree of the Dutch, Veibred of the Danish, and Weybrcd of 

 old English, all pointing to the plantain's growing on ways trodden by man — 

 suggest, perhaps, a far older supposed relation between this plant and the human 

 foot than that mentioned above ; and thus favor the derivation of the original 

 Latin name (as old as Pliny, H. N., vol. xxv. S, in § 39) from, plan ta, the sole of the 

 foot, — whether because the plantain is always trodden on, or, taking the termina- 

 tion go in plantago, as some philologists take it, to signify likeness (as doubtless 

 in laffago, mollugo, asferugo ; but this signification does not appear so clear in 

 some other words with the like ending), because its leaves resemble the sole of 

 the foot in flatness, breadth, marking, and so on. The possible derivation from 

 planta, a plant, "j>er excellentiam, quasi fla?ttam fircestantissimam" (Tournef., 

 Inst., vol. i. p. 128), though less open to question than that of Linnaeus (" flanta 

 tangenda," Phil. Bot., § 234), is certainly less significant than the other; which, 

 with the statements (independent, so far as appears, of each other) of Josselyn 

 and Kalm, if these may be relied on, seems to point to a very ancient co-inci- 

 dence of thought, not unworthy of attention. Something else of the same sort is 

 to be found in R. Williams, where he says (Key, I. c, p. 218) that the Massachu- 

 setts Indians called the constellation of the Great Bear mosk, or fia-wiunna-wcrw ; 

 that is, the bear. 



1 Gerard, p. 353, — Hyoscyamus niger, L. Adventive only: having "escaped 

 from gardens to roadsides," according to Dr. Gray (Man., p. 340) ; but "common 

 amongst rubbish and by roadsides," in 1785 (Cutler, /. c), and perhaps long 

 known on the coasts of Massachusetts Bay. 



- Broad-leaved wormwood, " our common and best-knowne wormwood " (Ge- 

 rard, p. 1096), — Artemisia absynthium, L. "Roadsides and amongst rubbish," 

 1785, — Culler, I.e. Omitted by Bigelow, and not very frequent. 



3 Gerard, p. 388. If this is to be taken for Rumex aculus, Sm. (Fl. Brit.), 

 which seems not to be certain, it is now referable to R. conglomerates, Murr., 

 which is "sparingly introduced" with us, according to Gray (Man., p. 377). But 

 it is more likely that Josselyn had R. crispus, L. (curled dock), in view : which is, 

 I suppose, the " varietie " of sharp-pointed dock, " with crisped or curled leaves," 

 of Johnson's Gerard, p. 387 ; and is the only mention of the species by those 

 authors. 



4 Gerard, p. 389, — Rumex Patientia, L. This and the next were garden pot- 



