Bistort
the English name given to a sub-genus or subdivision of the genus polygonum. Two well-known weeds fall under it the polygonum bistorta (common bistort or snakeweed), and the P. Each has a simple stem, and a single has flesh-colored flowers, and is common; the latter has paler flowers, and is a mountain plant. It is sometimes called Alpine bistort.
BISTOURY (from Pistoja, anciently called Pistorium, a city in Italy, 20 miles N. W. of Florence, where these knives were made at an early period), a surgical instrument used for making incisions. It has various forms-one like a lancet, a second called the straight bistoury, with the blade straight and fixed in a handle; and a third the crooked bistoury, shaped like a half moon, with the cutting edge on the inside.