Pigris

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Pigris Plinius ab insigni amaritudine cognominantur rotundo folio tollit eximie verucas et cetera.


Apparatus:

Ms. p's text is added on to the previous entry Pignotica virtus
tollit | tolit B
eximie | exiuie B
verucas AC ef | uerrucas B p | herucas? j
et cetera add. AC


Translation:

Pigris according to Pliny is so named because of its extraordinary bitterness; it has a round leaf and is excellent in removing warts.


Commentary:

Simon’s entry is a near-verbatim quote from Pliny, 22, 32, 66, ed. Rackham (1938-63: VI.340): Picris.

Pigris:
is Greek πικρίς /pikrís/ derived from πικρός /pikrós/ “bitter”. The name is mentioned in Theophrastus, Historia plantarum, 7, 11, 4, ed. Hort (1916: II) [[1]].

Latinised as picris it is first attested in the Latin literature in Pliny.

Picris is written pigris by Simon; it shows Western Romance intervocalic voicing of /kr/ as e.g. in Latin lacrima changing to Spanish/ Portuguese lágrima, Catalan llàgrima {IPA ['ʎaɣɾimə]} “tear (of sadness or joy)”. Simon as a presumed speaker of Ligurian {Genovese} would in his everyday speech have participated in this sound change, cf. Modern Genovese/ Zeneise: lägrima.


Botanical identification:

The statement that its leaves are round precludes this picris to be identified with Cichoria intybus L. “(wild) chicory”, whose leaves are pinnately lobed or lance-shaped and toothed.
André (1985: 199), s.v. picris mentions these suggestions for identification:

Urospermum picroides Desf. “prickly goldenfleece” [[2]], leaf-shape: [[3]];
Helminthotheca_echioides (L.) Holub, syn. Helminthia echioides Gaertn; syn. Picris echioides L. “bristly oxtongue” [[4]]; leaf-shape: [[5]];
and with a chaotic taxonomic history Cichorium pumilum L. “dwarf” or “wild endive”, [[6]]; leaf-shape: [[7]]
none of which have leaves that could be described as “round”.

The identification must therefore remain uncertain.


WilfGunther (talk) 14:21, 13 February 2016 (GMT)


See also Seris (1)


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