olifants melkbosn.
/ˌɒlᵻf(ə)nts ˈmɛlkbɒs/, U.S. /ˌɑləfənts ˈmɛlkˌbɔs/, South African English /ˈʊələfənts ˌmelkbɒs/ South African.
A shrubby spurge, Euphorbia hamata, native to South Africa and used as food for livestock.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Euphorbiaceae (spurges and allies) > [noun]
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turnsole1863–79
mole-tree1864
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seven sisters1879
caper-plant1882
asthma herb1887
mountain snow1889
crown of thorns1890
olifants melkbos1898
1898 in T. R. Sim Forests & Forest Flora Cape of Good Hope (1907) 316 The local name of the plant is Olifant Melkbosch.
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 347 Olifant melkbosch, Euphorbia cervicornis—something like the finger-pol. It occurs in Little Namaqualand.
1961 E. Palmer & N. Pitman Trees of S. Afr. 235 The olifants melkbos of Namaqualand..played an important part in the early economy of the country.
1966 C. A. Smith Common Names of S. Afr. Plants 355 Olifantsmelkbos, Euphorbia hamata..: a unisexual plant, forming large, spreading growths from a tuberous rootstock.
2000 P. Goldblatt & J. Manning Cape Plants 457 Olifantsmelkbos...Shrublet with many branches from a thickened main stem.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1898