APPENDIX 2

Local Names of Plants and Animals

Apart from the now archaic names for plants and animals listed by Isaac Hamon, the main source for the old Gower names of plants and animals is Horatio Tucker. In his book, published in 1951 by the Gower Society, he records that ‘As a child I learned the local names of the birds and the flowers – the only names that my grandmother knew.’ He is said to have compiled a list of over 400 words, but this appears to be lost. The names are of course English, as Gower is mainly an English-speaking area. In contrast, the Welsh names are standardised names and there appear to be none that are specific to the peninsula. Some of the names Tucker records covered more than one species and he notes, for instance, ‘Lundibirds, which nested on Worms Head, in our language included not only puffins but also guillemots and razorbills.’ The term ‘lundibirds’ must have originated from Lundy Island, which can be seen from Gower in clear weather, far out in the Bristol Channel. The island’s emblem, the puffin, is unfortunately now reduced in numbers, but still occurs, together with guillemots and razorbills. Their presence on Lundy would have been well known to the Gowerians of old.


LOCAL NAME TUCKER’S NAME SCIENTIFIC NAME
Adders’ meat Lady smock Cardamine pratensis
Angle touches Worms Various
Brims Horseflies Various
Bumba-goose or bumbagus Bittern Botaurus stellaris
Chatterpies Magpies Pica pica
Dilly leaves Coltsfoot Tussilago farfara
Drushes Thrushes Turdus spp.
Fernowl Nightjar Caprimulgus europaeus
Foxes’ tails Purple orchid Various
Guckoo-shoes Violets Viola spp.
Jack Phillip Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos
Lady washdishes Wagtails Motacilla spp.
Lundibirds Puffins, guillemots and razorbills Fratercula arctica/Uria aalge/Alca torda
March Wild celery Apium graveolens
Oakwibs Cockchafers Melolontha melolontha
Pennywort Penny royal Hydrocotyle vulgaris
Rames Wild garlic Allium ursinum
Reremouses Bats Various
Ruddock Robin Erithacus rubecula
Sourgrobs Sorrel Rumex acetosa
Twinks Chaffinches Fringilla coelebs
Vildeveer Fieldfare Turdus pilaris
Wants Moles Talpa europaea
Witches Moths Various