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Arctopus
Arctopus is a genus of flowering plants in the Apiaceae, with three species. The genus is endemic to Southern Africa. The genus name means "bears foot" (from ἄρκτος árktos "bear" and πούς pous "foot") in reference to the curious growth habit, resembling a large footprint, if not to the fact that the leaves are fringed with formidable prickles that punish bare feet and grazing.
The species were used in Khoisan medicine and adopted by the early settlers who gave them the Afrikaans name of sieketroos (= "sickness-comfort" i.e. "sickness remedy")
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Arctopus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
