Foalfoots

/ˈfoʊlfʊts/ noun

Definition

Plural of foalfoot, a plant with leaves resembling a young horse's hoof or a climbing ivy plant sometimes called ground ivy.

Etymology

From Old English 'fola' (foal) + 'foot', referring to the shape of the plant's leaves which were thought to resemble a foal's footprint or hoof.

Kelly Says

Medieval herbalists named plants based on what their leaves looked like, and foalfoot is one of many 'creature-named' plants—like coltsfoot and horsehoof—that shows how people learned to identify useful plants by comparing them to animals they knew.

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