torch-thistle
(ˈtɔːtʃˌθɪs(ə)l)
A name for a columnar cactus of the genus Cereus.
| 1731–3 Miller Gard. Dict. s.v. Cereus, The Torch-Thistle. Call'd Cereus, because it is, as it were, a kind of taper or torch..because when these plants have been cut down and dry'd upon the ground, they dip them into oil, and burn them as torches. Ibid. s.v. Greenhouse, Euphorbiums, Torch-Thistles, and other tender succulent Plants. 1753 Hogarth Anal. Beauty viii. 44 The indian-fig or torch-thistle,..as well as all that tribe of uncouth shaped exotics. 1884 Miller Plant-n. 177 Cereus, Torch-thistle. |