slangbos, noun

/ˈslaŋbɔs/
Forms:
Formerly also slange bosch.
Origin:
AfrikaansShow more Afrikaans, slang snake + bos bush.
A name given to any of several shrubs, especially the rigid, spiny shrub Lycium kraussii (family Solanaceae), the dwarf shrub Elytropappus glandulosus (family Asteraceae), or any of several species of the genus Stoebe. Also slangbossie [see -ie].
1795 C.R. Hopson tr. of C.P. Thunberg’s Trav. I. 268The Slange bosch (Seriphium) which grew here, was said, when made into a decoction, to expel worms.
1809 J. Mackrill Diary. 67Slange Bosch, Seraphium, expels Worms.
1917 R. Marloth Dict. of Common Names of Plants 75Slangbos, Stoebe cinera, Elytropappus glandulosus. Favourable hiding places of snakes. Often employed by mountaineers and campers as bedding. In Karoo applied to Crassula lycopodioides ([slang]bossie).
1949 L.G. Green In Land of Afternoon 36Those who can climb no more remember their mattresses of slangbos, the grey bush that makes the finest of all open air beds.
1966 C.A. Smith Common Names 422Slangbos...Lycium kraussii...Elytropappus scaber..the plant mentioned by Thunberg (1773) as ‘Seriphium,’..used as an antidote for snakebite, and not really from its being a favourite hiding place for snakes, as Marloth suggests.
1987 T.F.J. Van Rensburg Intro. to Fynbos 17Slangbos or ‘kooigoed’ (Stoebe spp.) are conspicuous amongst wagon trees on unstable scree slopes.
1988 M. Branch Explore Cape Flora 22Spittle bugs on small leafed slangbos.
A name given to any of several shrubs, especially the rigid, spiny shrub Lycium kraussii (family Solanaceae), the dwarf shrub Elytropappus glandulosus (family Asteraceae), or any of several species of the genus Stoebe. Also slangbossie [see -ie].
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slang
Slamse, adjectiveadj.slangkop, nounn.
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