I have looked up cochineal in the dictionary & find the interesting derivation from as far back as the Greek kokkos, which I take to indicate the insects that feed on the Kermes Oak (Quercus coccifera) and from which a scarlet dye was formerly obtained (a nice account of this is given by Bean in the account of Q. coccifera in 'Trees & Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles'). Kokkos turned into coccineus in Latin - a well-known epthet in botanical nomenclature (e.g. Dahlia coccinea). From here, says the dictionary, it became cochenille in French or cochinilla in Spanish, all relating to scarlet. On the subject of Tigridia pavonia, I am greatly impressed by the selection 'Sunset in Oz' from Ellen Hornig in which the yellow base of the outer segments is feathered with soft red. Lovely! John Grimshaw Dr John M. Grimshaw Garden Manager, Colesbourne Gardens Sycamore Cottage Colesbourne Nr Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL53 9NP Website: http://www.colesbournegardens.org.uk/ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim McKenney" <jimmckenney@starpower.net> > > Last week, a friend and I were discussing a New York Times article by Daine > Ackerman about cochineal, the red dye developed by the Aztecs from scale > insects. I began to wonder what that word cochineal means, i.e. what its > etymology is. And I was wondering if there was any connection between the > words cochineal and cacomite (apparently not). >