#alisma

• Abgar / Abgarus — The name borne by several kings of Edessa (historical Syria), the most famous in Romanian Christian ethnomedicine being Abgar V Ukhamâ. According to apocryphal legends found in old folk healing books, he suffered from leprosy and was cured after receiving a letter and a cloth bearing the face of Jesus (Mandylion). Abgar's Letter circulated for centuries in Romanian villages as a sacred talisman, worn around the neck by the sick to ward off plague, epilepsy, fevers, or difficult births.
• Alisma genus — A genus of herbaceous, perennial, semi-aquatic plants in the family Alismataceae, commonly known as water-plantains; it comprises species adapted to wetlands, lakes, and ditches, globally distributed across temperate regions. These plants feature rhizomatous stems, variable leaves, and branched inflorescences with three-petaled flowers.
• Grass-leaved water-plantain — A small aquatic plant species in the water-plantain family, commonly known as grass-leaved or ribbonleaf water-plantain; it grows in mud or submerged in shallow fresh or brackish water. It exhibits leaf polymorphism and produces cleistogamous flowers when completely submersed.
• Narrow-leaved water-plantain — A perennial, emergent aquatic plant species in the family Alismataceae, commonly known as narrow-leaved or lanceleaf water-plantain; it grows in shallow water or exposed mud. It is characterized by its narrow, lance-shaped leaves tapering to the petiole, and small pinkish-purple flowers that typically open in the morning.
• Common water-plantain — The type species of perennial herbaceous plants in the genus Alisma, commonly known as common water-plantain or mad-dog weed; it grows in wetlands, shallow pond edges, and wet mud. It features large, broad ovate or heart-shaped leaves resembling terrestrial plantains, and tall branched flowering panicles with tiny pale lilac or white flowers that open in the afternoon.
• Alismataceae — A family of monocotyledonous, herbaceous, perennial, aquatic or marsh plants adapted to life in wetlands and shallow waters. Plants in this family are characterized by laticiferous canals, highly polymorphic leaves arranged in a basal rosette, and 3-merous flowers with distinct green sepals and white or pink petals.
• Amulet — A small object, often engraved, carved, or crafted from precious materials, stones, or metal, to which popular superstition or religious beliefs attribute a magical power to protect the owner against evil spirits, illnesses, and bad luck. It represents an archetypal cult element, used since antiquity as a symbolic shield worn around the neck or kept in living spaces.
• Amulet — A small object (stone, metal, medallion) to which popular belief attributes magical properties of defense against illnesses, evil spirits, or misfortunes. Unlike a talisman, which is considered a magnet for luck and positive energies, the amulet is assigned a predominantly defensive role, functioning as a spiritual shield worn around the neck, on the wrist, or placed inside a dwelling.
• Apotropaic — An object, symbol, ritual, amulet, or magical formula used since ancestral times to repel evil influences, ward off malevolent spirits, and neutralize curses or the evil eye. As an adjective, it describes any decorative or cultural element invested with a symbolic function of divine or magical protection against dark forces.