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Monkey curries and pig basket weeds

Hi everyone,

I’m a German expat based in Taipei, Taiwan, and have been enjoying for quite a while now the quaint nomenclature Mandarin Chinese offers for various insectivorous plants. Utricularia are “Ear Cleaning Weeds”, and the genus Nepenthes can be literally translated as “Pig Basket Weed“. N. ampullaria is called „Apple Pig“ (the „basket weed” is dropped for brevity’s sake, only the “pig” remains), N. bicalcarata „Two Tooth Pig “, N. khasiana „Indian Pig “ etc.

In the Philippines, one of the terms for Neps is “condom plant” (now THERE’S an idea!), and the Thais also seem to have fun naming their bug-eating shrubs: http://www.neofarmthailand.com/index.p....Ntype=6
(first paragraph).

With all that obvious potential, I’m thinking of putting together a little glossary of amusing CP names in various languages. German doesn’t yield much of interest here, but I’m betting there’s a whole lotta more good stuff in other languages.

Would anybody be able to contribute?

Thanks in advance!

Hans
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]In the Philippines, one of the terms for Neps is “condom plant”

HA! Looking at some of the species, like truncata, those phillipinos must think a lot of themselves! LMAO!

How about "tiptiwichet" (I think I spelled that right...anyone care to correct me) for the Venus Fly Trap?
 
Hi Hans!
Here goes: the common name for a VFT in Japanese is "haejigoku" (pronounced like hah-eh-jee-goh-koo). Hae means fly, and jogoku means hell. Basically, the VFT is a fly's image of hell I guess (arijigoku are what lacewing larvae are called, ari meaning ant). I know Nepenthes is utsubokazura, utsubo meaning eel, but I'm not 100% sure as to what the whole name means.

Amori
 
Thanks for reminding me of the Tippitiwitchet! I almost forgot about the "Toothed Vagina" there for a second....
Quite a bit of background  (albeit also a bit non-conclusive) on the origin of this word can be found here:

http://www.tippitiwitchet.co.uk/tippity.html

Amori:
FLY HELL? Ooooh, this is absolutely priceless - the best in the collection so far!

Our downstairs neighbor is a part-time interpreter for Japanese, I'll ask him about the Nepenthes eel term and report back a.s.a.p.

cheers and keep 'em coming, y'all!

Hans
 
Oh, just thought of another one. There is a local term for S. purpurea ssp venosa...don't know where from, called "saddleback."
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (schloaty @ Oct. 12 2004,10:57)]Oh, just thought of another one.  There is a local term for S. purpurea ssp venosa...don't know where from, called "saddleback."

"Saddleback"? What whereabouts is that from?
 
I want to say from the outter banks (NC), but I'm not 100% sure about that...I am fairly sure it's one of the carolinas, though. I think it was mentioned in the Savage Garden...If I remember, I'll check when I get home.
 
In 1988 I wrote an article for CPN titled Carnivorous Plants in Micronesia
http://www.humboldt.edu/~rrz7001/pubs/cpn88.pdf
On Palau, N. mirabilis is called "Meliik"; on Yap, it is called "Youaad", or more commonly, "tafene fii ko borro", literally "the place that rats pee." It is thought that the pitchers contain rat urine, perhaps because of the odor of decaying insects.
 
So, "Pinky and The Brain" invented the urinal, lol!
I remember that article, Bob, and your growing "D. regia" article also. That was the first time I ever saw a picture of the latter. Do you still cure skunk pelts?

Joe
 
  • #10
[b said:
Quote[/b] (schloaty @ Oct. 12 2004,6:38)]
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]In the Philippines, one of the terms for Neps is “condom plant”

HA!  Looking at some of the species, like truncata, those phillipinos must think a lot of themselves!  LMAO!

How about "tiptiwichet" (I think I spelled that right...anyone care to correct me) for the Venus Fly Trap?
yes, unfortunately when my aim icon was a nepenthes ventricosa, lots thought i was a pedophile... I kept getting "omg you have a condom for a buddy icon?"

Also some pretty....... interesting people instant mesaged me!
smile_k_ani_32.gif
 
  • #11
Amori san,
"kazura" refers to ivy, or vines generally (tsuru shokubutsu). "utsubo" specifically means Moray Eel. So the literal translation is Moray eel ivy. I have no idea why that name was thought of, maybe because moray eels are ferocious predators, so it's a vine that eats things.

Hamish
 
  • #12
Dang! I found the true definition for Nepenthes in Japanese: Utsubo are Japanese samurai period quivers, which apparently look like Nep pitchers:Utsubo
Well the kazura part was definitely correct. I prefer SydneyNeps' definition better, which is what I thought was correct for a long time.
biggrin.gif


Amori
 
  • #13
yappari machigatta na! I should have bothered to look at the kanji, and then I would have seen my error.
 
  • #14
For your perusal/amusement, here's the glossary so far (Chinese characters encoded in Big5)

Please don't hesitate to contribute more - I'll post updates when called for...
-----------------------------------------------------
Taiwan (Mandarin Chinese):
Nepenthes:
- ‰ÔŽsæµ (Flower Market Nep):  N. ventrata
- ”’ŠÂæµ (White Rim Nep): N. albomarginata
- “ñê�æµ (Two Toothed Nep):  N. bicalcarata
- ˆó“xæµ (Indian Nep):  N. khasiana
- å_‰Êæµ (Apple Nep): N. ampullaria
- ŒÕ�Žæµ (Hooker�fs Pig): N. hookeriana


Philippines:
Nepenthes:
- Condom Plant
- Pitchel-Pitchel


Great Britain:
Venus Fly Trap:
- Tippitiwitchet (http://www.tippitiwitchet.co.uk/tippity.html)


Japan:
Venus Fly Trap:
- haejigoku (hae = fly, jogoku = hell)
Nepenthes:
- utsubokazura (utsubo = samurai period quivers, kazura = ivy)


USA:
Sarracenia:
- saddleback


Micronesia:
Nepenthes:
- fii ko borro (the place where rats pee)
 
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