South Africa
Preserved but no longer current.
It was discovered by Kaempfer in Japan, and the ship which was bringing specimens of the new plant to Europe was wrecked on the coast of Guernsey ; some of the bulbs that were washed ashore took root and germinated, hence the misnomer.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “South Africa” mean?
It was discovered by Kaempfer in Japan, and the ship which was bringing specimens of the new plant to Europe was wrecked on the coast of Guernsey ; some of the bulbs that were washed ashore took root and germinated, hence the misnomer.
Is “South Africa” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.