A Grammatical Dictionary of Botanical Latin

Dryas,-adis (s.f.III), abl. sg. dryade, nom. & acc. pl. dryades, gen.pl. dryadum: from the Greek mythos, the dryads or wood-nymphs; see fairy [> Gk. drys, (s.f.II), gen. sg. dryos: the oak, sacred to Zeus; any timber tree]. For the genus Dryas, see dry-, dryo-.

NOTE: Druidae,-arum (pl.m.I) note gender, also Druides,-um (= Dryades, gen.pl.Dryadum “through supposed connexion with dryas) The druids (members of a native priesthood whose influence extended over Gaul and Britain)” (Glare) The Drysidae,-arum (pl.f.I) are the Druids.

Hamadryas,-adis (s.f.III), abl. sg. hamadryade: hamadryad, a wood nymph: > Gk. (h)ama adv. together, both, at one and the same time + drys, tree, often the Oak: “Nymphs whose life depended on that of trees to which they were attached” (Liddell & Scott).

Primula dryadifolia, a primrose; Polyporus dryadeus, a fungus, ‘like a dryad,’ perhaps because of its association with only one tree species.