pellitory

British  

/ -trɪ, ˈpɛlɪtərɪ /

noun

1. any of various urticaceous plants of the S and W European genus Parietaria, esp P. diffusa ( pellitory-of-the-wall or wall pellitory ), that grow in crevices and have long narrow leaves and small pink flowers

2. a small Mediterranean plant, Anacyclus pyrethrum, the root of which contains an oil formerly used to relieve toothache: family Asteraceae (composites)

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Etymology

Origin of pellitory

C16 peletre, from Old French piretre, from Latin pyrethrum, from Greek purethron, from pur fire, from the hot pungent taste of the root

Example Sentences

Two years after the army's evacuation, the entire perimeter wall of the barracks was covered with more than twenty different species: among them, capers, snapdragons, lots of spreading pellitory, and several small ferns.

From Salon • Mar. 22, 2020

Yes, faith, she dwells in Sea-coal-lane,—did cure me, With sodden ale, and pellitory of the wall; Cost me but two-pence.

From The Alchemist by Jonson, Ben

The best pellitory I ever plucked out of a wall.

From Hypolympia Or, The Gods in the Island, an Ironic Fantasy by Gosse, Edmund

They consist of ginger and calomel, pellitory of Spain, tobacco, the acids, and some others.

From Enquire Within Upon Everything The Great Victorian Domestic Standby by Anonymous

Some one who has seen these vine-fringed walls in Barbizon describes them as gay with "purple orris, stonecrop, and pellitory."

From Jean Francois Millet by Hurll, Estelle M. (Estelle May)