torch-thistlen.
/ˈtɔːtʃˌθɪsl/, U.S. /ˈtɔrtʃˌθɪs(ə)l/ A name for a columnar cactus of the genus Cereus.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cactus and allies > [noun] > torch-thistle
torch1597
dildo1672
torch-plant1696
Cereus1731
torch-thistle1731
1731 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. I. at 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.
1731 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. I. at Greenhouse Euphorbiums, Torch-Thistles, and other tender succulent Plants.
1753 W. Hogarth Anal. Beauty viii. 44 The indian-fig or torch-thistle,..as well as all that tribe of uncouth shaped exotics.
1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants 177 Cereus, Torch-thistle.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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