DiotimosReading Desk

Plant names from tongues, teeth and tails

Cynoglossum; Ophioglossum; Buglossum; Dentaria; Hippuris

Cynoglossum and Ophioglossum appear here as hound’s-tongue and adder’s-tongue, alongside horsetail, bugloss, and toothwort.

From the book

Nine Books on the Nature of Things

Attributed to Paracelsus · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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Meaning

Cynoglossum and Ophioglossum appear here as hound’s-tongue and adder’s-tongue, alongside horsetail, bugloss, and toothwort. The list is said to draw names also from figure, form, and image, providing a visual route alongside alleged medicinal efficacy. The paragraph does not explain every resemblance individually or establish one exact modern species for each historical plant name.

Places to read

  1. Book 9 · Signature · Passage 61Latin“Cynoglossum, Ophioglossum, Hippuris”