Last Update: 23.08.2011 09:27
Old-English: smælþistel, smelthistel, smelþistel,
Latin (Machine generated): ACANTALEUCA, ACANTALEUCE, ANTELEUCE, CARDUUS,
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Cf. Cockayne"s note: "There had been something illegible, it should be "narrower", στενώτερα."
Berendes identifies the plant as Cnicus ferox. Also cf. André (1985, s.v. ACANTHA).
The gloss goes back to HA CLIII: Đeos wyrt þe man acanta leuce 7 oþrum naman [Leerstelle] nemneþ [...] hafaþ leaf swylce wulfes camb ac hi beoþ mearwran[1] 7 hwitran, the source is Dioscorides 3,12 (Berendes 1902270): "Die weiße Akantha[2] [...] hat Blätter ähnlich denen des weißen Chamaileon, aber schmaler und weißer." The literal translation of the plant name 'small thistle, Schmaldistel' reflects this description.
The name is not used in modern botanical nomenclature, therefore it is difficult to match the name with a real plant. Other old names for this plant are ACANTHA ALBA, ACANTA LEUCE, BEDEGAR, SPINA ALBA, etc., which are shared by other thorny plants like the rose or the whitethorn. C. ferox is a plant of the Italian, French and Spanish alps.