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eryngo (i-RING-goh) - n., any of a couple hundred species of umbelliferous flowers (genus Eryngium) with spiny leaves and dense clusters of small bluish flowers.
Many grown as ornamentals, with reason:
Thanks, WikiMedia!
There's about 250 species, many of which are also called amethyst sea holly or just sea holly (no relation to true hollies). Formerly, the candied root of some species were used as an aphrodisiac. And yes, they do look a bit thistly, which is baked into the name: fist used in 1543 adapting Latin ēryngion, a variety of thistle, from Greek ērungion, diminutive of ērungos, thistle.
---L.
Many grown as ornamentals, with reason:
Thanks, WikiMedia!
There's about 250 species, many of which are also called amethyst sea holly or just sea holly (no relation to true hollies). Formerly, the candied root of some species were used as an aphrodisiac. And yes, they do look a bit thistly, which is baked into the name: fist used in 1543 adapting Latin ēryngion, a variety of thistle, from Greek ērungion, diminutive of ērungos, thistle.
---L.
