365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Saturday, August 27, 2022
Saussurea Americana, American Sawwort
Day 318: By now, I am sure most of my long-term readership will have figured out that words are my favourite toys. I enjoy finding out where they came from, what they're connected to, how their meanings have changed over time. To look at American Sawwort (a plant endemic to the northwestern states including Alaska and Montana), one might think that its common name was a logical extension from the toothy margins of its leaves ("-wort" means "plant"). Whether that is the case, I can't honestly say, but what fascinated me about its etymology is that its botanical name is Saussurea americana which, to my ear, is far too "saw-ish" a term to be coincidental. In trying to track down its taxonomic roots, I discovered that the Saussures (father Horace and son Nicolas) were both scientists of some renown in the late 1700s and early 1800s respectively, and that Nicholas in particular had a penchant for botany. In fact, he laid the groundwork for our modern understanding of photosynthesis. Is there a linguistic connection between "sawwort" and "Saussure?" Inquiring minds are itching to know.
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