In the northern counties the poplar, on account of its bitter bark, was
termed the bitter-weed.[7]
"Oak, ash, and elm-tree,
The laird can hang for a' the three;
But fir, saugh, and bitter-weed,
The laird may flyte, but make naething be'et."
According to the compilers of "English Plant Names," "this name is
assigned to no particular species of poplar, nor have we met with it
elsewhere." The common Solomon's seal (Polygonatum multiflorum) has
been nicknamed "David's harp,"[8] and, "appears to have arisen from the
exact similarity of the outline of the bended stalk, with its pendent bill-
like blossoms, to the drawings of monkish times in which King David is
represented as seated before an instrument shaped like the half of a
pointed arch, from which are suspended metal bells, which he strikes
with two hammers."
In the neighbourhood of Torquay, fir-cones are designated oysters,
and in Sussex the Arabis is called "snow-on-the-mountain," and "snow-
in-summer." A Devonshire name for the sweet scabriosis is the
mournful-widow, and in some places the red valerian (Centranthus
ruber) is known as scarlet-lightning. A common name for Achillaea
ptarmica is sneezewort, and the Petasites vulgaris has been designated
"son before the father." The general name for Drosera rotundifolia is sun-
dew, and in Gloucestershire the Primula auricula is the tanner's-apron.
The Viola tricolor is often known as "three faces in a hood," and the
Aconitum napellus as "Venus's chariot drawn by two doves." The
Stellaria holostea is "lady's white petticoat," and the Scandix pecten is
"old wife's darning-needles." One of the names of the Campion is plum-
pudding, and "spittle of the stars" has been applied to the Nostoc
commune. Without giving further instances of these odd plant names,
we would conclude by quoting the following extract from the preface of
Mr. Earle's charming little volume on "English Plant Names," a remark
which, indeed, most equally applies to other sections of our subject
beyond that of the present chapter:--"The fascination of plant names has
its foundation in two instincts, love of Nature, and curiosity about
Language. Plant names are often of the highest antiquity, and more or
less common to the whole stream of related nations. Could we penetrate
to the original suggestive idea that called forth the name, it would bring
valuable information about the first openings of the human mind
towards Nature; and the merest dream of such a discovery invests with a
strange charm the words that could tell, if we could understand, so
much of the forgotten infancy of the human race."