Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
whore's hair; horehound
English answer:
Ballota et/ou Marrubium
Added to glossary by
Claire Chapman
Nov 5, 2007 21:47
16 yrs ago
English term
Native in: Russian 
Works in: German to Russian, English to Russian, Russian to German, and 1 more.
whore's hair
English
Tech/Engineering
Agriculture
It is a weed and can grow among /or on/ the Indian corn. It would be good to know a more common English name or the Latin one.
Responses
| 1 | horehound = Ballota et/ou Marrubium |
Claire Chapman
|
| 3 | comment |
Ken Cox
|
Change log
Nov 9, 2007 16:43: Claire Chapman Created KOG entry
Responses
5 hrs
Claire Chapman
Native in English
&
English
All things textile
Native in: English 
Works in: French to English, English to French, English
Related KudoZ points
:
3
Selected
horehound = Ballota et/ou Marrubium
This is my guess as to what the plant is supposed to be since I've never heard of the name you give. See the Wiki articles for the complete info.
Horehound is a common name applied to two related genera of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae:
* Ballota
* Marrubium
**The name is of unknown origin, but with the first part 'hore' derived from "hoary", "hairy".** This article deals with the white horehound, Marrubium vulgare, which was widely introduced around the world by European colonists and is now a weed in many countries.
...
Weed
Horehound was introduced to southern Australia in the 19th century as a medicinal herb. It became a weed of native grasslands and pastures where it was introduced with settlers’ livestock, and was first declared under noxious weeds legislation. It now appears to have reached its full potential distribution. It occupies disturbed or overgrazed ground, and is favoured by grazing because it is highly unpalatable to livestock. It may persist in native vegetation that has been grazed, eg. at Wyperfeld National Park in Victoria.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horehound
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballota
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marrube_blanc
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 days18 hrs (2007-11-09 16:44:45 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------
You're welcome, Alex, and thank you! :-)
Horehound is a common name applied to two related genera of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae:
* Ballota
* Marrubium
**The name is of unknown origin, but with the first part 'hore' derived from "hoary", "hairy".** This article deals with the white horehound, Marrubium vulgare, which was widely introduced around the world by European colonists and is now a weed in many countries.
...
Weed
Horehound was introduced to southern Australia in the 19th century as a medicinal herb. It became a weed of native grasslands and pastures where it was introduced with settlers’ livestock, and was first declared under noxious weeds legislation. It now appears to have reached its full potential distribution. It occupies disturbed or overgrazed ground, and is favoured by grazing because it is highly unpalatable to livestock. It may persist in native vegetation that has been grazed, eg. at Wyperfeld National Park in Victoria.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horehound
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballota
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marrube_blanc
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 days18 hrs (2007-11-09 16:44:45 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------
You're welcome, Alex, and thank you! :-)
3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you!"
1 hr
comment
I assume your question arises from the Stephen King story Children of the Corn (an online copy - probably bootleg - is available at http://www.en8848.com.cn/fiction/Fiction/Horror/200505/717.h... ).
From the context, 'whore's hair' is apparently a weed (as you said).
I can't find anything with google that indicates what other name it might have, but I can say that it must be a vernacular name, and essentially a rude name, so it's unlikely that it would appear very often in print. 'Whore' was not a word used in polite company in the US untll sometime in the late 1960s or early 1970s, and the story was originally published in 1977 (in Penthouse, which might be relevant).
If you reallly need to know, you may have to ask Stephen King.
From the context, 'whore's hair' is apparently a weed (as you said).
I can't find anything with google that indicates what other name it might have, but I can say that it must be a vernacular name, and essentially a rude name, so it's unlikely that it would appear very often in print. 'Whore' was not a word used in polite company in the US untll sometime in the late 1960s or early 1970s, and the story was originally published in 1977 (in Penthouse, which might be relevant).
If you reallly need to know, you may have to ask Stephen King.
Discussion
http://www.franklang.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=2660