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