beechdrops

American  

[beech-drops] / ˈbitʃˌdrɒps /

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)

1. a low plant, Epifagus virginiana, of the broomrape family, without green foliage, parasitic upon the roots of the beech.

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Etymology

Origin of beechdrops

An Americanism dating back to 1805–15; beech + drop + -s ³

Example Sentences

Such plants, however, as the broomrape, pinesap, beechdrops, the Indian pipe, and the dodder - which marks the lowest stage of degradation of them all - appear among their race branded with the mark of crime as surely as was Cain.

From Project Gutenberg