Žilj

The Slovenian word “žilj” corresponds to the English word “weeds” in a local dialect spoken in the coastal region of the country (Primorska). However, when I was searching for the source of the word in a Croatian encyclopedia, I discovered that there is a such a thing as “Primorski žilj” (sea daffodil or sand daffodil, in Italian giglio di mare), a threatened species of lily (a type of amaryllis) that grows on the island of Mljet in Croatia and southern Dalmatia. The scientific name of the flower is Pancratium maritimum, which is derived from the Greek words pan (“all”) and kratos (“energy”). It grows in the sand in certain coastal areas around the Mediterranean and Black Seas, as well as in south-west Asia and north-west Africa.