128 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XII. 



Nagd-meru-ale (" the yam that killed the younger sister"), 

 Habenaria macrostachya. — Various stories are current as to 

 the origin of the name of this plant : one is the following. 

 It happened that a Vedda and a younger sister on their way 

 to another part of the country had to pass through a forest. 

 The Vedda, who was armed with bow and arrow, and his 

 sister, tired after a long day's walk, sat down to rest, and the 

 former laid aside his bow and stuck the arrow in the ground. 

 The sister, asking her brother for a little lime to chew her 

 betel with, the Vedda gave her the lime on the point of the 

 arrow. Scarcely had she chewed the betel when to his amaze- 

 ment and horror she approached him with amorous gestures. 

 Deciding that death alone could remove the disgrace of her 

 conduct, he drew his bow and shot her. Subsequently the 

 unhappy Vedda found the cause of this strange behaviour 

 was owing to the arrow having been tainted with the 

 juice of a yam which it had pierced when stuck in the 

 ground. 



This yam has since been known as the Naga-meru-ale, 

 " the yam that killed the sister." 



Two versions of the story are given by Mr. Nevill in the 

 " Taprobanian," vol. II., p. 3. 



Plants in Folk Lore Tales. 



There are several folk lore tales current among the Sin- 

 halese, in which trees are mentioned as having played an 

 important part. I will here relate one. 



There lived in a certain village a gamarala and his wife. 

 They had a child named Kirihami. The gamarala was a 

 well-to-do man, possessing fields and gardens, which he regu- 

 larly cultivated and filled his atu with their produce, so that 

 the family were in comfortable circumstances. It happened 

 that the gamarala's wife once got ill, and the husband and 

 his daughter were put to no little anxiety owing to her 

 illness, as she grew worse and worse daily. The woman 

 loved her daughter very much, and she thought, if she were 



