Thursday 29 May 2008

Mother–in–law’s tongue


It’s funny how an apparently disconnected and innocuous flower name can reveal a lot about a land’s culture.


This cactus, blooming in our garden, seems harmless and soft to the touch. In reality, any contact with its tender bristles, results in a painful and burning sensation that lasts for hours. Therefore its Turkish name: mother-in-law’s tongue.

5 comments:

  1. Beautiful! I've never seen one blooming!
    And the name is ... well, I'm lucky with my mother in law :)

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  2. Theehehe very aptly named...
    Mine is sweet but the rest of the family is kind of like that. It is more descriptive of my mother ;-P

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  3. LOL, what a name!!! But it looks so beautiful...

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  4. I don't see mine so often so I'm not complaining! :) Great story! :)

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