PLANT NAMES FROM WRIGHT'S ENGLISH

 DIALECT DICTIONARY

 

 

This a compilation of plant names published in the following work:

Wright, Joseph, 1898-1905. The English dialect dictionary. Oxford University Press. London. 6 vol.

The first part includes all plants, native, cultivated or introduced in the British Isles as well as superior fungi and alga, mosses, liverworts and lichens.

A second part lists the names of plant life and plant parts.

In the appendices can be found the cognates of a certain number of plant names, assembled under a common root.

The English and the scientific names are from the following books:

Blamey, Marjorie & Christopher Grey-Wilson, 1989. The illustrated flora of Britain and northern Europe. Hodder & Stoughton, London.

Rose, Francis, 1989. Colour identification guide to the grasses, sedges, rushes and ferns of the British Isles and north-western Europe. Penguin Group, London.

Names not found in Wright's dictionary are from the preceding two books, or from  Grieve.

Very often the names have been applied to similar species which are not differentiated by non-botanists. Since there are some 30 species of roses and over 50 species of dandelions, the names for "dandelion" are assembled under the Common Dandelion Taraxacum officinale, and those for "wild rose" are assembled under the the Dog Rose Rosa canina.

Due to the diffulty of identification and imprecise descriptions by witnesses, a certain number of names have been erroneously applied. Such errors are most evident when the species named does not have the character implied by the name. When applied to a species other than the original, the name loses its semantic value. *ex....

Uncertain attributions are followed by a question mark (?).

Many names have been attributed to the Greater Stitchwort Stellaria holostea, an inconspicuous plant without any medicinal use, while the Common Chickweed  Stellaria media a very common and widespread garden pest seems to have been forgotten. In the same way, the Heath Rush Juncus squarrosus is often cited, but the Sharp-flowered Rush Juncus articulatus, the commonest species is hardly mentioned.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Grieve, M. 1976 (Edited and introduced by C.F. Leyel). A modern herbal. Penguin Books (first published 1936).

Blamey, Marjorie & Christopher Grey-Wilson, 1989. The illustrated flora of Britain and northern Europe. Hodder & Stoughton, London.

Klein, Ernest, 1971. A comprehensive etymological dictionary of the English language. Elsevier, Amsterdam, Oxford, New York.

Mabberley, D.J., C.E. Jarvis, and B.E. Juniper, 2001. The name of the apple. Telopea 9 (2): 421-430. (Nomenclature of the orchard apple).

Rose, Francis, 1989. Colour identification guide to the grasses, rushes and ferns of the British Isles and north-western Europe. Penguin, London.

Pearsall, Judy & Bill Trumble, 2001. The Oxford English reference dictionary. Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York.

Stubbs, F.B., 1986. Provisional keys to British plant galls. British Plant Gall Society.

Wright, Joseph, 1898-1905. The English dialect dictionary. London. 6 vol. Reprinted 1970.

 

ABBREVIATIONS

 

App. appendix

AS: Anglo-Saxon

dial. dialectal

I. Island

n.Irel. northern Ireland

N.Irel. (political)

prob. probably

reg.: regional, in preference to dialectal

sp. species unidentified

spp. several species of the genus

subsp. subspecies

transl. translation

var., in scientific names: variety

(-) no locality attested, prob. England; often the botanical name of the species

(?) = doubtful attribution

 

SYNONYMS OF SCIENTIFIC NAMES

 

Following scientific research, botanical nomenclature has changed considerably in the last century. The following is a list of 272 names used at the time of Wright, now considered as synonyms:

 

Achillea arvensis = Achillea millefolium

Adiantum nigrum = Adiantum capillus-veneris

Adonis autumnalis = Adonis annua

Agropyron repens = Elitrygia repens

Agrostis alba = Agrostis gigantea

Agrostis filiformis = Agrostis capillaris

Agrostis setacea = Agrostis curtisii

Agrostis vulgaris = Agrostis capillaris

Aira cespitosa = Deschampsia cespitosa

Alchemilla arvensis = Aphanes arvensis

Alliaria officinalis = Alliaria petiolata

Allium porrum = Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum

Allosurus crispus = Cryptogramma crispa

Alopecurus agrestis = Alopecurus myosuroides

Aloysia citriodora = Aloysia triphylla

Alyssum maritimum = Lobularia maritima

Ampelopsis hederacea = Parthenocissus quinquefolia

Anacharis alsinastrum = Elodea canadensis

Anchusa sempervirens = Pentaglottis sempervirens

Anemone hepatica = Hepatica nobilis

Anemone pulsatilla = Pulsatilla vulgaris

Antennaria margaritacea = Anaphalis margaritacea

Anthemis nobilis = Chamaemelum nobile

Anthriscus podagraria = Aegopodium podagraria

Anthyllis vulgaris = Anthyllis vulneraria subsp. vulgaris

Apargia autumnalis = Leontodon autumnalis

Arabis albida = Arabis caucasica

Arabis deltoide = Aubretia deltoides

Araucaria imbricata = Araucaria araucana

Arenaria maritima = Spergularia media

Armeria vulgaris = Armeria maritima

Arrhenaterum avenaceus = Arrhenatherum elatius

Artemisia argentea = Artemisia absinthium

Arundo phragmites = Phragmites australis

Asafoetida narthex = Ferula narthex

Asperula odorata = Galium odoratum

Aspidium aculeatum = Polystichum aculeatum

Aspidium oreopteris = Oreopteris limbosperma

Asplenium adiantum-nigrum = Adiantum capillus-veneris

Asplenium ceterach = Ceterach officinarum

Asplenium scolopendrium = Phyllitis scolopendrium

Atriplex hastata = Atriplex prostrata

Auricula ursi = Primula auricula

Avena elatior = Arrhenatherum elatior

Avena nuda = Avena sativa

Avena orientalis = Avena sativa

Barbarea praecox = Barbarea verna

Bartsia odontites = Odontites verna

Bartsia viscosa = Parentucellia viscosa

Berula angustifolia = Berula erecta

Betula alba = Betula pendula

Blechnum boreale = Blechnum spicant

Borago orientalis = Trachystemon orientalis

Brassica campestris (turnip) = Brassica rapa subsp. campestris

Brassica campestris (rutabaga) = Brassica napus subsp. rapifera var. napobrassica

Brassica fimbriata = Brassica oleracea var. acephala

Brassica sylvestris = Brassica oleracea

Bromus mollis = Bromus hordaceus

Bunium flexuosum = Bunium bulbocastanum

Caesalpinia bonducella = Caesalpinia bonduc

Calamagrostis variegata = Phalaris arundinacea var. variegata

Calamantha acinos = Acinos arvensis

Calamintha officinalis = Calamintha nepeta

Calla aethiopica = Zantedeschia aethiopica

Campanula hybrida = Legousia hybrida

Carduus acaulis = Carlina acaulis

Carduus arvensis = Cirsium arvense

Carduus benedictus = Cnicus benedictus

Carduus eriophorus = Cirsium eriophorum

Carduus lanceolatus = Cirsium vulgare

Carduus palustris = Cirsium palustre

Carduus heterophyllus = Carduus acanthoides

Carduus lanceolatus = Cirsium vulgare

Carduus marianus = Sylibum marianum

Carduus palustris = Cirsium palustre

Carex glauca = Carex flacca

Castanea vesca = Castanea sativa

Centaurium perfoliatum = Blackstonia perfoliata

Centaurium umbellatum = Centaurium erythraea

Cerastium vulgatum = Cerastium fontanum

Cerasus laurocerasus = Prunus laurocerasus

Cerastium triviale = Cerastium fontanum

Chaerophyllum sylvestre = Anthriscus sylvestris

Cheiranthus cheiri = Erysimum cheiri

Chlora perfoliata = Blackstonia perfoliata

Chrysanthemum leucanthemum = Leucanthemum vulgare

Chrysanthemum sinense = Dendrathema hybrids

Chrysanthemum vulgare = Tanacetum vulgare

Cochlearia armoracia = Armoracia rusticana

Comarum palustre = Potentilla palustris

Conopodium denudatum = Conopodium majus

Convolvulus sepium = Calystegia sepium

Convolvulus soldanella = Calystegia soldanella

Corchorus japonicus = Kerria japonica

Cotyledon umbilicus = Umbilicus rupestris

Crataegus pyracantha = Pyrancantha coccinea

Cratageus oxyacantha = Crataegus laevigata

Crocus albiflorus = Crocus vernus

Cuscuta trifolii = Cuscuta epithymum

Cyclamen europaeum = Cyclamen purpurascens

Cytisus laburnum = Laburnum anagyroides

Delphinium consolida = Consolida regalis

Dianthus caesius = Dianthus gratianopolitanus

Dielytra spectabilis = Dicentra spectabilis

Dipsacus sylvestris = Dipsacus fullonum

Draba verna = Erophila verna

Equisetum limosum = Equisetum fluviatile

Erica hibernica = Daboecia cantabrica

Ervum hirsutum = Vicia hirsuta

Erysimum alliaria = Alliaria petiolata

Erythraea centaurium = Centaurium erythraea

Euphrasia officinalis = Euphrasia rostkoviana

Festuca sylvatica = Brachypodium sylvaticum

Filago germanica = Filago vulgaris

Francoa ramosa = Francoa sonchifolia

Fucus digitatus = Laminaria digitata

Fucus esculentus = Alaria esculenta

Galeopsis versicolor = Galeopsis speciosa

Galium cruciata = Cruciata laevipes

Genista tinctoria = Isatis tinctoria

Geranium striatum = Geranium versicolor

Glaucium luteum = Glaucium flavum

Glyceria aquatica = Glyceria maxima

Gnaphalium dioicum = Antennaria dioica

Gnaphalium sylvaticum = Omalotheca sylvatica

Halymenia palmata = Fucus palmatus

Habenaria chlorantha = Platanthera chlorantha

Helianthemum vulgare = Helianthemum nummularium

Heliotropium peruvianum = Heliotropium arborescens

Helminthia echioides = Picris echioides

Helosciadium nodiflorum = Apium nodiflorum

Hordeum maritimum = Hordeum marinum

Hordeum pratense = Hordeum secalinum

Houstonia caerulea = Hedyotis caerulea

Hydrangea hortensis = Hydrangea macrophylla

Hypericum quandrangulum = Hypericum tetrapterum

Imperatoria ostruthium = Peucedanum ostruthium

Inula dysenterica = Pulicaria dysenterica

Iris xiphoides = Iris latifolia

Jateorhiza palmata = Jateorhiza calumba

Juncus glaucus = Juncus inflexus

Juncus lamprocarpus = Juncus articulatus

Koenigia maritima = Koenigia islandica

Larix europaea = Larix decidua

Lastrea filix-mas = Dryopteris filix-mas

Lathyrus macrorrhizus = Lathyrus linifolius

Lavandula vera = Lavandula angustifolia

Leontodon taraxacum = Taraxacum officinale

Linaria cymbalaria = Cymbalaria muralis

Linaria minor = Chaenorhinum minus

Lolium italicum = Lolium multiflorum

Lunaria biennis = Lunaria annua

Lychnis coronaria = Silene coronaria

Lychnis dioica = Silene dioica

Lychnis diurna = Silene latifolia

Lychnis githago = Agrostemma githago

Lychnis latifolia = Silene latifolia

Lychnis vespertina = Silena latifolia

Lychnis viscaria = Silene viscaria

Lychnis viscosa = Silene viscaria

Lycopodium selago = Huperzia selago

Matricaria chamomilla = Chamomilla recutita

Matricaria inodora = Matricaria perforata

Matricaria parthenium = Tanacetum parthenium

Medicago maculata = Madicago arabica

Melilotus caeruleus = Trigonella caerulea

Mentha hirsuta = Mentha aquatica

Mentha rotundifolia = Mentha suaveolens

Mentha viridis = Mentha spicata

Myosotis palustris = Myosotis scorpioides

Myosurus agrestis = Myosurus myosuroides

Narcissus biflorus = Narcissus x medioluteus

Nepeta glechoma = Glechoma hederacea

Nephrodium cristatum = Dryopteris cristata

Nephrodium filix-mas = Dryopteris filix-mas

Nephrodium oreopteris = Oreopteris limbosperma

Nephrodium thelypteris = Thelypteris palustris

Onobrychis sativa = Onobrychis viciifolia

Ononis arvensis = Ononis spinosa

Ononis campestris = Ononis spinosa

Ononis repens = Ononis spinosa

Orchis latifolia = Dactylorhiza maialis

Orchis maculata = Dactylorhiza maculata

Orobus tuberosus = Lathyrus linifolius

Oxyacantha crataegus = Crataegus laevigata

Paeonia officinalis = Paeonia, cultivars

Palmaria palmata = Fucus palmatus

Petasites vulgaris = Petasites hybridus

Peucedanum sativum = Pastinaca sativa

Peziza coccinea = Sarcoscypha coccinea

Peziza cochleata = Otidea cochleata

Phaseolus multiflorum var. coccinea = Phaseolus coccineus

Phellandrium aquaticum = Oenanthe aquatica

Phlox acutifolium = Phlox paniculata var. acutifolium

Phytolacca decandra = Phytolacca acinos

Poa aquatica = Glyceria maxima

Polyanthus vulgaris = Primula "polyanthus" (a hybrid primrose)

Polygonum convolvulus = Fallopia convolvulus

Polygonum fagopyrum = Fagopyron esculentum

Potentilla fragariastrum = Potentilla sterilis

Potentilla tormentilla = Potentilla erecta

Primula variabilis = Primula elatior

Prunus insititia = Prunus domestica var. insititia

Psamma arenaria = Ammophila arenaria

Pteridium filix-mas = Dryopteris filix-mas

Pteris aquilina = Pteridium aquilinum

Pyrus aria = Sorbus aria

Pyrus aucuparia = Sorbus aucuparia

Pyrus communis = Malus pyrus

Pyrus cydonia = Cydonum cotoneum

Pyrus domestica = Malus pyrus

Pyrus japonica = Malus pyrifolia

Pyrus malus (crab-apple) = Malus sylvestris

Pyrus malus (cultivated apple-tree) = Malus pumila

Pyrus scandica = Sorbus intermedia

Pyrus torminalis = Sorbus torminalis

Quercus robus var. sessiliflora = Quercus petraea

Quercus sessiliflora = Quercus petraea

Quercus sessilis = Quercus petraea

Rhamnus frangula = Frangula alnus

Rhinanthus crista-galli = Rhinanthus angustifolius

Ribes grossularia = Ribes uva-crispa

Rosa spinosissima = Rosa pimpinellifolia

Rumex aquatica = Rumex hydrolapathum

Salicornia herbacea = Salicornia europaea

Salix amygdalina = Salix triandra

Sambucus pubens = Sambucus racemosa

Salix rubra = Salix purpurea

Sarcoscypha coccinea = Sarcoscypha austriaca

Sarothamnus scoparius = Cytisus scoparius

Saxifraga sarmentosa = Saxifraga stolonifera

Scabiosa arvensis = Knautia arvensis

Scabiosa succisa = Succisa pratensis

Scirpus maritimus = Bolboschoenus maritimus

Scirpus cespitosus = Trichophorum cespitosum

Scirpus lacustris = Schoenoplectus lacustris

Scirpus palustris = Eleocharis palustris

Scolopendrium vulgare = Phillitis scolopendrium

Scrophularia aquatica = Scrophularia auriculata

Sedum glaucum = Sedum hispanicum

Sedum reflexum = Sedum rupestre

Senebiera coronopus = Coronopus squamatus

Serratula arvensis = Cirsium arvense

Silene cucubalus = Silene vulgaris

Silene inflata = Silene vulgaris

Silene maritima = Silene uniflora

Sium angustifolium = Berula erecta

Sium nodiflorum = Apium nodiflorum

Sparganium ramosum = Sparganium erectum

Spiraea filipendula = Filipendula ulmaria

Spiranthes autumnalis = Spiranthes spiralis

Stachys lanata = Stachys byzantina

Sticta pulmonaria = Pulmonaria longifolia

Symphoricarpos racemosus = Symphoricarpos rivularis

Tanacetum parthenium = Tanacetum parthenium

Taraxacum dens-leonis = Taraxacum officinale

Torilis anthriscus = Torilis japonica

Tilia parvifolia = Tilia cordata

Trichomanes radicans = Trichomanes speciosum

Trifolium minus = Trifolium dubium

Trifolium procumbens = Trifolium campestre

Triticum caninum = Elymus caninus

Triticum junceum = Elymus farctus

Triticum repens = Elitrygia repens

Tritoma uvaria = Kniphofia uvaria

Tropaeolum canariense = Tropaeolum peregrinum

Ulex nanus = Ulex minor

Ulmus montana = Ulmus glabra

Valerianella olitoria = Valerianella locusta

Vallota purpurea = Cyrtanthus speciosus

Viola mariana = Campanula trachelium

Viola sylvestris, V. sylvatica = Viola reichenbachiana

 

THE DIALECTAL NAMES

 

In the left column: scientific names in bold characters. In the right column the English names.

Arrows refer to appendices.

 

 

Abies alba

 

Silver Fir

fir Scot., England, fur Cumb., e.York., vir n.Cy. (Dan. fyr, Sw. fure, Germ föhre), candle-fir Elgin, Aberdeen (the wood used for lighting purposes)

The cones: apple Linc., Wor., deal-apple e.Anglia, fir-apple nw. Cumb., Linc., Sussex, Hmp (the cone), chat York., n.Linc. (id.) cave Hamp., fir-apple Dur., Cumb., Westm., York., I.Wight., Nhp., Leic., Berk., e.Suff., Sussex, Hamp., fir-bull Shrop. (the cones of conifers (Pinus sylvestris, Abies alba app. 2.1

Acer campestre

 

Field Maple

maplin-tree Glouc., dog-oak York., Not., cat-oak w.York., oak Devon, locks-and-keys n.Linc., Devon (the seed vessels), shackles Devon (the seeds) see Rhinanthus; peacock's tail Hert., whitty-bushes Shrop. (?)

Acer pseudoplatanus

 

Sycamore

maple s.Cumb., England, may, may-tree Corn., share w.Cy., segumber Devon, seggy e.York., horse-shoe Wilt., whistle-wood Selk., n.Cy., Nhb. (see Salix)

The winged seeds: cats-and-keys Devon, locks-and-keys n.Linc., Cumb., Nrf., n.Essex, knives-and-forks Kent, cock-and-hens n. Cy. ("leaf beds" = the winged seeds)

Achillea millefolium

 

Yarrow

yarrel Suff., yallow Lanc., yock-yall, york-yall Linc., yarra-grass Essex, yarroway e.Angl., yarwe OE, gearwe AS, prob. from yar (York., Lanc.) acid, sour; hurr (Linc., Kent., Sussex) tart, astringent, rough-tasting; stanch-grass Aberd. ("stink grass")

thousand-leaf Ches., Lanc., thousand-leaf grass Staff., thousand-leaved clover Berw., Rxb., Nhb., milfoil (-) (French mille-feuilles), hundred-leaved grass Nhb.

 green-arrow Suff., stop-blood s.Pemb., nose-bleed Hamp., devil's nettle Ches., breakstone-parsley Staff., hemming-and-sewing Hamp., old-man's mustard Linc. (for moustache), traveller's ease Wilt., betsey Kent, wild pepper Nhb., cammock Devon (see Ononis natrix), tansy Ches. (= prob. Tanacetum vulgare)

Achillea ptarmica

 

Sneezewort

love-entangled, seven-years-love Devon, seven-year's love Glouc., w.Som., Devon, bachelor’s button Nhp., moolery-tea Caith., goose-tongue w.York., Nhp., War., Shrop., white-weed Antrim, fair-maid-of-France Midl. (a cultivated variety), bastard pellatory

Achillea serrata

sweet-mace Not., mace (-) (yarrow has a strong odour)

Alps Yarrow

Acinos arvensis

mother-of-thyme Som.,

Basil-thyme

Aconitum napellus

 

Monkshood

monk's cowl Shrop., monk-wood Ches., masterwort (-), monkey('s) hood Devon, pope's ode Nhp. (hood), grandmother's bonnet Som., granny’s nightcap Suff., grandmother's nightcap n.York., Ches., Nrf., Kent, old-granny's nightcap Oxf., auld-wife-hud, old-wife's huid Cumb. (hood), old-woman's nightcap n.York., Oxf., s.Buck., old-woman n.Linc., friar's-caps Devon, soldier('s) cap Nhp., Turk's cap Nhp., Som., cuckoo's cap Ches., Shrop., cuckold's cap Cumb., Nrf., n.Essex app. 2.3; curly-murly-nightcap Gall.

captain-over-the-garden n.York., dove-flower Berk., Venus'-doves Devon, Venus'-chariot-drawn-by-doves Berk., Essex, Noahs-ark Glamorgan, Jacob's chariot Essex, horses-and-cariages Hamp., bulls-and wheys n.Westm., adam-and-eve Norf “on lifting the hood of the flower, the upper petals appear as two little figures”, face-in-hood Nrf., boots-and-shoes Corn., barfut w.Wor., bear's foot Not., Nhb., Hamp. (attributed to Alchemilla vulgaris and Helleborus), luckie's mutch Lanark, cat-tail Shrop., wolf's bane (-)

Acorus calamus

sweet rush War., sweet-seg s.Cy., sweet-flag Ches.

Sweet Flag

Adiantum capillus-veneris

 

Maiden-hair Fern

fairy-fern w.Irel., dudder-grass Nrf., lady-anthrer-grerninum Hamp., black-spem Hamp. (for “sperm”; so named from its blackish spores)

Adonis aestivalis

rose-ruby (-)

Summer Pheasant's-eye

Adonis annua

jack-in-the-green Wilt., love-lies-bleeding Glouc.

Pheasant's-eye

Adoxa moschatellina

musk-weed w.York., town-hall clock Cumb., good-friday flower Dorset

Moschatel

Aegopodium podagraria

 

Ground Elder

ash-weed Wilt., w.Som. “from its casual resemblance to the leaf of the ash”, ground ash Ches., Linc., War., sweet ash Som., wild ash Cumb., white-ash Som., ground-elder Hamp., War.,Wor., sw.Linc., I.Wight, wild elder Buck., wild alder Linc., wild esh nw.Cumb., Dutch-elder Wilt., dog-eller Ches.,