Clan Mackintosh Clan Mackintosh (Clann Mhic an Tòisich) is a Scottish clan from Inverness in the Scottish Highlands.[1] The chiefs of the Clan Mackintosh are also chiefs of the Chattan Confederation, a historic confederation of clans.[1] History[edit] Origins of the clan[edit] The Scottish Gaelic word toisech means leader and can also be translated as chief.[1] The seanachies of the Clan Mackintosh claim that the first chief of the clan was Shaw, second son of Duncan MacDuff, Earl of Fife of the royal house of Dál Riata.[1] In 1160 Shaw MacDuff accompanied Malcolm IV of Scotland on an expedition to suppress a rebellion in Morayshire.[1] In about 1163 he was also made constable of Inverness Castle and was granted land in the Findhorn valley.[1] The heart land of the clan was the lands of Petty which was also the burial place of the chiefs.[1] In 1179 Shaw MacDuff was succeeded by his son who was also called Shaw and was confirmed in his patrimony by William the Lion.[1][2] Scottish-Norwegian war[edit]
Bean nighe The bean nighe (Scottish Gaelic for "washer woman"), is a Scottish fairy, seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld. She is a type of bean sìth (in Irish bean sídhe, anglicized as "banshee"). Legends[edit] As the "Washer at the Ford" she wanders near deserted streams where she washes the blood from the grave-clothes of those who are about to die. It is said that mnathan nighe (the plural of bean nighe) are the spirits of women who died giving birth and are doomed to do this work until the day their lives would have normally ended.[1] A bean nighe is described in some tales as having one nostril, one big protruding tooth, webbed feet and long-hanging breasts, and to be dressed in green. Etymology[edit] A bean nighe ("washerwoman") is a specific type of bean sìth.[3] In Scottish Gaelic, bean sìth can also be spelled bean-shìdh. The bean nighe is sometimes known by the diminutives ban nigheachain (little washerwoman) or nigheag na h-àth (little washer at the ford).
Buxus sempervirens Buxus sempervirens (common box, European box, or boxwood), is a species of flowering plant in the genus Buxus, native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia, from southern England south to northern Morocco, and east through the northern Mediterranean region to Turkey.[1][2][3] Buxus colchica of western Caucasus and B. hyrcana of northern Iran and eastern Caucasus are commonly treated as synonyms of B. sempervirens.[4][5] Description[edit] Distribution and habitat[edit] The species typically grows on soils derived from chalk, limestone, usually as an understorey in forests of larger trees, most commonly associated with Fagus sylvatica forests, but also sometimes in open dry montane scrub, particularly in the Mediterranean region. Box Hill, Surrey is named after its notable box population, which comprises the largest area of native box woodland in England.[7][8] Cultivation[edit] B. sempervirens 'Elegantissima'[16]B. sempervirens 'Latifolia Maculata'[17]
Will-o'-the-wisp A will-o'-the-wisp /ˌwɪl ə ðə ˈwɪsp/ or ignis fatuus (/ˌɪɡnɨs ˈfætʃuːəs/; Medieval Latin: "foolish fire") are atmospheric ghost lights seen by travellers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes. It resembles a flickering lamp and is said to recede if approached, drawing travellers from the safe paths. The phenomenon is known by a variety of names, including jack-o'-lantern, friars's lantern, hinkypunk, and hobby lantern in English[1] folk belief, well attested in English folklore and in much of European folklore. Terminology[edit] In the United States, they are often called "spook-lights", "ghost-lights", or "orbs"[2] by folklorists and paranormal enthusiasts.[3][4] The names will-o'-the-wisp and jack-o'-lantern are explained in etiological folk-tales, recorded in many variant forms in Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Appalachia, and Newfoundland. One version, from Shropshire, recounted by K. Folklore[edit] Continental Europe[edit] Northern Europe[edit] Britain[edit] Asia[edit]
Bearberry Bearberries are three species of dwarf shrubs in the genus Arctostaphylos. Unlike the other species of Arctostaphylos (see manzanita), they are adapted to Arctic and Subarctic climates, and have a circumpolar distribution in northern North America, Asia and Europe, one with a small highly disjunctive population in Central America. Species[edit] The name "bearberry" for the plant derives from the edible fruit which is a favorite food of bears.[1] The fruit, also called bearberries, are edible and are sometimes gathered for food. The leaves of the plant are used in herbal medicine.[2] Alpine bearberry - A. alpina (L.) Other recorded old English common names include arberry, bear's grape, crowberry, foxberry, hog cranberry, kinnikinnick, mealberry, mountain box, mountain cranberry, mountain tobacco, sandberry, upland cranberry, and uva-ursi. Uses in folk medicine[edit] Arctostaphylos alpina Arctostaphylos uva-ursi History and folklore[edit] Sources[edit] [edit] Jump up ^ Janice J.
Apparitional experience In psychology[1] and parapsychology, an apparitional experience is an anomalous, quasi-perceptual experience. It is characterized by the apparent perception of either a living being or an inanimate object without there being any material stimulus for such a perception. The person experiencing the apparition is awake, excluding dream visions from consideration. In scientific or academic discussion, the term apparitional experience is to be preferred to the term ghost in respect of the following points: The term ghost implies that some element of the human being survives death and, at least under certain circumstances, can make itself perceptible to living human beings. History of the concept[edit] Attempts to apply modern scientific or investigative standards to the study of apparitional experiences began with the work of Edmund Gurney, Frederick William Henry Myers and Frank Podmore,[3] who were leading figures in the early years of the Society for Psychical Research. Direct realism[edit]
Vaccinium vitis-idaea Vaccinium vitis-idaea (lingonberry or cowberry) is a short evergreen shrub in the heath family that bears edible fruit, native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Northern Hemisphere from Eurasia to North America. Lingonberries are a staple in Northern Scandinavia, picked in the wild and used to accompany a variety of dishes.[1] Commercial cultivation is undertaken in the U.S. Pacific Northwest.[2] Names[edit] Vaccinium vitis-idaea is most commonly known in English as lingonberry or cowberry.[3][4][5][6] The name lingonberry originates from the Swedish name lingon for the species. There are at least 25 other common names of Vaccinium vitis-idaea worldwide.[3] Other names include: Description[edit] Flowers and young shoots Vaccinium vitis-idaea spreads by underground stems to form dense clonal colonies. Flowers The flowers are bell-shaped, white to pale pink, 3–8 mm (0.1–0.3 in) long, and produced in the early summer. Ecology[edit] Varieties[edit] Vaccinium vitis-idaea var. minus
Ericaceae Description[edit] Distribution and ecology[edit] Ericads have a nearly worldwide distribution. The family is largely composed of plants that can tolerate acidic, infertile conditions. In many parts of the world, a "heath" or "heathland" is an environment characterised by an open dwarf-shrub community found on low-quality acidic soils, generally dominated by plants in the Ericaceae. Some evidence suggests eutrophic rainwater can convert ericoid heaths with species such as Erica tetralix to grasslands.[10] Nitrogen is particularly suspect in this regard, and may be causing measurable changes to the distribution and abundance of some ericaceous species. Systematics[edit] In 2002, systematic research[11] resulted in the inclusion of the formerly recognised families Empetraceae, Epacridaceae, Monotropaceae, Prionotaceae, and Pyrolaceae into the Ericaceae based on a combination of molecular, morphological, anatomical, and embryological data, analysed within a phylogenetic framework. Genera[edit]