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 Weybred 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. 8, in § 39) from planta, 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 lappago, moll u go, asperugo ; 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, " per excelleutiam, quasi plantain prcestantissimam" (Tournef., 
Inst., vol. i. p. 12S), though less open to question than that of Linnaeus ("planta 
tangcnda," 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, /. c, p. 218) that the Massachu- 
setts Indians called the constellation of the Great Bear mosk, or pazvkuiinazvaiv ; 
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 17S5 (Cutler, /. c), and perhaps long 
known on the coasts of Massachusetts Bay. 
2 Broad-leaved wormwood, " our common and best-knowne wormwood " (Ge- 
rard, p. 1096), — Artemisia absynthium, L. "Roadsides and amongst rubbish," 
1785, — Cutler, I. c. Omitted by Bigelow, and not very frequent. 
8 Gerard, p. 3S8. If this is to be taken for Rumex acutus, Sm. (Fl. Brit.), 
which seems not to be certain, it is now referable to R. conglotneratus, 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 Paticntia, L. This and the next were garden pot- 
