Anyone seen a ferny hoolet?

[Owl-Light]

Hehe, its one of the 'old names' for the Tawny Owl. Don't you just love it? I'm fasinated by all the old names for our wild animals and plants. Here are a few more examples:

• Bird's Foot Trefoil - Eggs-and-Bacon / Hens and Chickens / Dutchman's Clogs
• Columbine - Granny's Night-cap / Granny's Bonnet
• Deadly Nightshade - Devil's Herb* / Enchanter's Nightshade* / Sorcerer's Herb*
• Goat's-beard - Johnny-go-to-bed-at-noon (love that one )
• Foxglove - Dead Man's Bells* / Fairy Thimbles* / Witches Thimbles*

* denotes really old ones source

Anybody know any other good ones?

[honeybee]

what about dandelion then...pee the bed.

[Owl-Light]

lol, really? I hadn't heard that one.
I wonder if theres a book somewhere that delves into the origins of these terms?

[honeybee]

it has various ruder names but the old names are self-explanatory...dandelion milk does make you need a pee if you're silly enough to indulge...the ones you listed were used in potions and spells and foxglove obviously is poisonous. I like the old names.

[Earth Hart]

Fly Agaric is also known as Shamans Bridge. I did write some more but after what has happened today I deleted it.

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by Earth Hart

Fly Agaric is also known as Shamans Bridge. I did write some more but after what has happened today I deleted it.

Is that to do with tripping out?

[Susie]

Originally Posted by Sheryl LaBouchardiere

lol, really? I hadn't heard that one.
I wonder if theres a book somewhere that delves into the origins of these terms?

Not quite what you had in mind but I have an old Readers Digest book called Field Guide to the Wild Flowers of Great Britain and it has all sorts of interesting little snippets about the plants ... for example Ragged robin was also called batchelor's buttons (several other plants were given this name as well) as apparently 16th century West county girls used to pick the flowers, several at a time, and give each the name of a local boy. Whichever flower opened first was said to identify either the boy the girl should marry, or the one who wanted to marry her. It has also been called thunder flower (another name shared with other flowers) because children believed that if they picked the flowers thunder and lightening would occur.

Common Mallow was sometimes called billy buttons, pancake plant or cheese flower and in medieval times was used as an anti-aphrodisiac!

I like the old names too.

[Earth Hart]

Originally Posted by honeybee

Is that to do with tripping out?

The Red&White needs to be treated with respect & responsibility. It's not for tripping out & enjoying the pretty colours.

[Tiggrx]

Another interesting book which covers the names & folklore of plants is "The Englishman's Flora" by Geoffrey Grigson - one of my favourite books.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Earth Hart

The Red&White needs to be treated with respect & responsibility. It's not for tripping out & enjoying the pretty colours.

druids and shamans etc used to take it for its halucigenic properties - to help them commune with the gods , hence the name - this is not to be recomended to anyone these days, A freind of mine hospitalised himself once. EH is right on this subject the less said the better.