PROCEEDINGS—PERTHSHIRE SOCIETY OF NATURAL SCIENCE, lxxiii 
The Plant of Gluttony {lus a chraois) is the Dwarf Cornel 
{Cornus suecica ), whose berries were supposed to give a great 
appetite. 
The Rennet Weed {lus an leasaich ) is the Yellow Bedstraw 
{Galium veruni), and is so called from its property of curdling milk, 
a property indicated also by the Latin name. The commoner Gaelic 
name is, however, ruin or ruamh , from ruadh (red), because the 
roots were used to produce a red dye. 
The Colt’s-foot ( Tussilago ) had several names, being a plant of 
some reputation. From the colour of the leaf it was called gorm 
Hath (greyish green), and from the shape, cluas Hath (the grey ear), 
but from its use it derived the name duilliar spuing (the tinder leaf), 
and also fathan, or athan , which means fire. The dried leaves were 
used as'tobacco, and, dipped in saltpetre, made excellent tinder. 
Although used in the same way as tobacco, the use was medicinal, to 
alleviate coughs. 
In common with other races, the Highlanders held the pretty 
little Eye-bright (Euphrasia ) in much estimation for its supposed 
virtues as an eye medicine. It was called the Eye Cleaner (glan 
ruis), Water for the Eye (rein a?i ruisg), and That which Brightens 
the Eye (soillse na sul). An infusion of it in milk applied to the eyes 
with a feather was a certain cure it was supposed, and would, as old 
Culpepper says, “ if it were as much used as it is neglected, half spoil 
the spectacle trade.” 
Like the Rennet-Weed or Yellow Bedstraw, the Butter Wort, 
Bog Violet or Cuckoo’s Shoe ( Pingincula ), was named, from its action 
on milk, the Butter-Mixer {badan measgan ), and also uachdar (cream) 
and lus a bhainne (milk wort). In Lapland it is also used for 
curdling milk. 
The Cleansing Wort {lus ghlinne-bh racadail) is the Wood Mercury 
(.Mercurialis ), once much used for curing wounds. 
Corcar , which means purple, is the Cudbear {Leconora tartarea), a 
lichen which grows on stones, and furnishes a good purple dye. 
The above are only a few of the names derived from the qualities 
and uses of the plants, and many more might be mentioned, but we 
must pass on to the next group. 
2. Names derived from the nature of the Place of Growth. 
The ancient Highlanders (and, for that matter, the ancient Low- 
landers too) used their eyes and observed many things which their 
modern descendants never notice. Thus plants got names from the 
places where they grew, even though they had no reputed virtues to 
call attention to them. I need mention a few only. 
The Candle of the "Woods {feada coille) is the conspicuous white 
flower of the Wood Sorrel ( Oxalis )—a very poetical name. 
The Corn Daisy {buidheag an arbhair ) is the Mayweed {Matricaria 
itiodora), a daisy-like flower, which grows in ploughed fields. 
The Loch Flower {pliir an lochain ) is the Water Lobelia {Lobelia 
Eortmanna), whose blue flowers arise in a spike from the surface of 
lakes. 
