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silphium sounds like silvia which might derive from salvia?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia




AFAIK only if you ignore a bunch of Latin and Greek phonetics.

The <ph> was an aspirated /p/ before it was an /f/.

The Romans said <v> as a /w/ sound.

Maybe someone can correct me but I don't think an [i] to [a] change or vice-versa is that common in Latin derivates.

If you're saying "silvia sounds like salvia", maybe we should also conclude the Latin word for "forest" also derives from that? But the etymologies are actually totally different in that case, the similarity is just a coincidence.


Just in case anyone was actually wondering.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia

>The name Salvia ("salviya") derives from the Latin salvere ("to feel well and healthy, health, heal"), the verb related to salus (health, well-being, prosperity or salvation), referring to the herb's healing properties. Pliny the Elder was the first author known to describe a plant called "Salvia" by the Romans, likely describing the type species for the genus Salvia, Salvia officinalis.


Totally different plants and different etymology. Salvia is from "Salvare" that means "to save", It was a widely known fix-all remedy in roman empire. Nobody would confuse it.

It was probably just another extinct endemism, maybe a big Apiaceae.

The carrot family is complicated with a mix of edible and very poisonous species like hemlock. I would not advice to play with unknown species of Apiaceae just trying to find this plant.


And if you also ignore pictures that look different. See the coin in the article.




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