The Common Names of Plants 
By W. C. Egan, Illinois. 
THE common names of plants spring from the hearts 
of the common people. Scientific ones have the 
mustiness of the herbarium. Both are essential. 
Common names change with localities and often skip from 
one plant to another, creating confusion. Take the Syca- 
more for instance. The biblical scholar claims it is a Fig- 
tree, Ficus Sycomorus, the Englishman insists that it is a 
Maple, Acer Pseudo-Platanus, while the lumberman of 
the Ohio River bottom swears it is the Platanus occi- 
dentalis, the American, or Western, Plane-tree. The 
California!!, Australian and New Zealander, each claims 
the name for separate and distinct species. 
By right of priority the biblical student is correct, as 
the Common Wild Fig, Ficus Sycomorus, in biblical 
times was known as the Sycomore, or Sycamine among 
the common people. It was a large-leaved, low branch- 
ing tree and on this account easily accommodated 
Zacceus when he climbed up into it in order to see our 
Lord pass by. 
"Zacceus he 
Did climb a tree 
For the Lord to see." 
How came the name Sycomore, modernized into Syca- 
more, to be applied to the Maple? There is a curious 
history connected with it. During the middle ages the 
acts of our Saviour were dramatized, and desiring to 
represent Zacceus in his aerial position they wanted a 
Sycamore tree, the Wild Fig, but none were at hand, so 
they did the next best thing they could. They chose a 
Maple, which in leaf somewhat resembled the ancient 
Fig-tree and called it a Sycomore. The tree chosen is 
known, botanicallv, as Acer Pseudo-Platanus, the False 
Plane-tree, and soon became known as the Sycamore by 
the masses. Later on this Maple was introduced into 
England, its common name following it. This accounts 
for the Englishman's authority, although he often modi- 
fied it and called it the Sycamore Maple. When Johnny 
Bull came to America "some of him" settled in Ohio 
and adjoining states and saw there a tree unknown to 
them, that in foliage somewhat resembled their Syca- 
more at home and it soon became a Sycamore to them. 
This is the Sycamore of commerce, used extensively for 
interior house decoration and known as Platanus occi- 
dentalis, the American, or the Western, Plane-tree. The 
English settlers in California and elsewhere saw resem- 
blances in other trees to their home Sycamore and the 
same name was given to them. 
Common names, while they lie closer to the heart than 
the scientific ones, are very misleading. 
Here in Illinois may be seen in bloom in early spring 
a charming Japanese shrub, known as Forsythia, named 
in honor of Wm. Forsyth, the king's gardener in Ken- 
sington. Its long, arching, rod-like shoots are com- 
pletely covered with yellow, bell-shaped flowers before 
the foliage appears. In some places in Arkansas this 
shrub is known as the Golden Rod, a name more suitable 
for it than it is as applied to our Golden-rod, a fall 
blooming herbaceous perennial, which blooms in racemes 
or clusters and not rod-like in appearance. In New Eng- 
land gardens the Forsythia is called Sunshine Bush. 
The many curious common names given to the Three- 
colored Violet, Viola tricolor, are interesting in that they 
nearly all indicate some form of affection, such as "Kiss 
Me." "Tichle-my-fancy," "Kiss-Me-Ere-I-Rise." "Jump- 
"Republishcd from Billerica. 
up-and-Kiss-Me," etc. In "Old Time Gardens" Alice 
Morse Earle says in speaking of this flower "To our 
little flower has also been given this folk name, "Meet- 
her-in-the-entry-kiss-her-in-the-buttery," the longest 
plant name in the English language, rivalled only by 
Miss Jekyll's triumph in nomenclature for the Stone- 
crop, namelv : "Welcome-home-husband-be-he-ever-so- 
drunk." 
A lady from the south visited Egandale one day and 
when passing a specimen of the Aralia spinosa remarked, 
"I see you have the Tar-tree." I replied, "I've known 
it called Hercules' Club, Peril's Walking Stick and An- 
gelica Tree, but never heard of 'Tar-tree.' " She then 
said that the darkies called it that because the spines 
"tars" (tear) their clothes. 
Perhaps in no country are common names used so 
freely as in England. There the masses cultivate them 
extensively and from them have sprung many of the 
names attached to their garden pets. The comparatively 
limited area of the country and the universal use of 
plants serve to perpetuate and understandingly dissemi- 
nate any fanciful name. A glance at a compilation of 
these names is somewhat interesting. The word "grass" 
with some descriptive term is applied in four hundred 
and seventeen cases, including the Yucca and Gladiolus. 
The term "lily" is used over fifty times for flowers out- 
side the genus Lilium. The use of the bark in medicine 
and the arts has given the simple name of "Bark-tree" to 
some fifty different species. The resemblance in flower 
or fruit to an apple has caused that word to be applied 
in various form to seventv-three plants, among which 
we find "Love Apple," "Hen Apple." and "Apple Pic" 
The word "Ash" is associated with seventeen genera out- 
side the genus Fraxinus. Under the name "Beech" we 
find six genera and the appelation "Baytrce" covers 
eleven different trees. 
The compilation removes some misconceptions that are 
prevalent. For example, the "briar root" out of which 
pipes are made is not briar, but belongs to the Heath 
family. The word "briar" as used in this connection is 
a corruption of the French word "bruvere" signifying 
Heather. Those who buy dried "currants" for their pud- 
dings get the fruit of the Zante Grape Vine. Colocasia 
esculenta, winch we also know under the name of 
Crdadium esculentum. and called "Elephant's Tar." is 
also called "Bleeding Heart." One species of Mullein 
masquerades under twenty-seven names. The term 
"She's a daisy" must be rather indefinite, as it is applied 
to fourteen genera. 
Queer names are numerous and it is hard to conceive 
what suggested them. Our temperance friends would 
not like to place in their front vards such plants as 
"Brandy Bottles." "Bum-Nose Tree." and "Carbolic 
Acid Plant." nor would our legal adviser feel compli- 
mented if we presented him with a "Bush-Lawyer." We 
might send to our physician a "Belly-Ache-Bush" some 
''Bloody-Fingers," "Nose-Bleed." and "Fin^ers-and- 
Tces." but he would undoubtedly prefer a "Fat-Hen." 
"Fat-Pork." "Mutton-Chop," "Goose-nnd-Gosling." and 
"Gooseberry Pie." The household cat is immortalized 
seventeen times, the least poetical of which is "Cat- 
Chop." 
We find a "Melancholy Gentleman" at "Loggerheads," 
but by the "Grace- of -God" with the chance of "Court- 
ship and Matrimony." "Broivn Betty" pulled "Jim 
Crow's Nose" while "Grim-the -Collier" gave a "Blue- 
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