solemai etymology?

[Alan H. Hartley]

Sally Thomason wrote:

>    Aside from Harrington and Shaw, other sources that I've 
> found that have this word are Lewis & Clark (Nov. 13, 1805, 
> AND Jan. 25, 1806) sol-me `wild cranberry'

Here are the pertinent passages (written during their stay on the lower 
Columbia) from the new Univ. Nebraska edition, which is on line at 
http://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/toc.html. (Note "language 
difficulties"!)

Nov. 13, 1805: "I Saw in my ramble to day a red berry resembling 
Solomons Seal berry which the nativs call Sol-me and use it to eate."

Gary Moulton's note: "This is clearly bunchberry, dwarf cornel, 
puddingberry, Cornus canadensis L... It is "Sol-me" in the day's second 
entry. Confusion has occurred in identifying this plant because of the 
use of the native term here, since Lewis also uses the word solme to 
identify another species on January 27, 1806. The men are apparently 
applying the Chinookan word s^ul(a)mix to two entirely different plants. 
The problem is compounded by the fact that solme apparently refers to 
the wild cranberry or serviceberry, which is not the plant noted here or 
on January 27. Language difficulties may be the cause of these problems."

Jan. 25, 1806: "The beary which the natives call solme is the production 
of a plant about the size and much the shape of that common to the 
atlantic states which produces the berry commonly called Solloman's seal 
berry. this berry also is attatched to the top of the stem in the same 
manner; and is of a globelar form, consisting of a thin soft pellecle 
which encloses a soft pulp inveloping from three to four seeds, white, 
firm, smothe, and in the form of a third or quarter of a globe, and 
large in proportion to the fruit or about the size of the seed of the 
common small grape. this berry when grown and unripe is not speckles as 
that of the Solomon's seal berry is; this last has only one globular 
smoth white firm seed in each berry.— the Solme grows in the woodlands 
among the moss and is an annual plant to all appearance.—"

Moulton's note: "It is either Smilacina stellata..with dark blue or 
green berries and blue stripes, or S. racemosa..having red berries with 
small purple spots, both called false Solomon's seal. The plant is 
compared to Solomon's seal, Polygonatum biflorum..a species in the East."

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