The Gaelic names of plants (Scottish, Irish and Manx) / collected and arranged in scientific order, with notes on their etymology, uses, plant superstitions, etc., among the Celts, with copious Gaelic, English, and scientific indices, by John Cameron.

  • Cameron, John
Date:
1900
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The Gaelic names of plants (Scottish, Irish and Manx) / collected and arranged in scientific order, with notes on their etymology, uses, plant superstitions, etc., among the Celts, with copious Gaelic, English, and scientific indices, by John Cameron. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    27/186 page 5
    PAPAVERACE>E. Papaver rhoeas—Poppy. Gaelic: meilbheag; sometimes beilbheag, a little pestle (to which the capsule has some resemblance). “Le meilbheag, le neoinean, ’s le slan-lus.”—MacLeod. With a poppy, daisy, and rib-grass. Iothros, corn-rose—from ioth (Irish), corn; r'os, rose. Cromlus, bent weed. Paipean ruadk—ruadh, red; and paipean a corruption of papaver, from papa, pap, or pappo, to eat of pap. The juice was formerly put into children’s food to make them sleep. Welsh: pabi. Irish: blath nam bodaigh, old men’s flower. Cathleach- dearg (O’Reilly). Cochcifoide (Shaw). Corn poppy. Welsh: Jlygad y cythraul, the devil’s eye. Cathleach may perhaps be connected with cathlunn corn and dearg red, but Shaw’s name is altogether dubious and meaningless. P. somniferum—Common opium poppy. Gaelic: codalian, from codal or cadal, sleep. Collaidin ban, white poppy. P. nigram sativum—Paipean dubh, black poppy. Manx: Jus y chadlee, the plant for sleep. Chelidonium majus—Common celandine (a corruption of X«Ai8wv, chelidon, a swallow). Gaelic: an ceann ruadh, the red head. The flower is yellow, not red. Irish: lacha cheann ruadh, the red-headed duck. Welsh: llysie y wennol, swallow-wort. Aonsgoch is another Gaelic name for swallow-wort, meaning swallow-flower—aon, a swallow; and sgoth, a flower. Scotch Gaelic name for a swallow, ainlag. Manx: Jus y ghollan gheayee, swallow herb, formerly used by herbalists as a cure for cancer. Glaucium luteum—Yellow horned poppy. Gaelic: barrag ruadh (?), the valiant or strong head. The flower is yellow, not red. FUMARIACE^E. ■(From fumus, smoke. “The smoke of these plants being said by the ancient exorcists to have the power of expelling evil spirits” (Jones) French: fume terre. Fumaria officinalis—fumitory. Gaelic: bus deathach thalrnhuinn (Armstrong), the earth-smoke plant. Irish: deatach thalrnhuinn (O Reilly), earth-smoke. Welsh: mwg y ddaer, earth-smoke. The allusion being to the disagreeable smell of the plant when burning. Another Irish name is caman scarraigh (O’Reilly)—caman, crooked,
    No text description is available for this image
    No text description is available for this image
    No text description is available for this image