buttonbush

American  

[buht-n-boosh] / ˈbʌt nˌbʊʃ /

noun

1. a North American shrub, Cephalanthus occidentalis, of the madder family, having globular flower heads.

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Etymology

Origin of buttonbush

First recorded in 1625–35; button + bush ¹

Example Sentences

He ultimately wanted to apply his research to building a garden in Mexico and using the buttonbush for wetland restoration.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 29, 2023

In the heart of the garden, there are towering shrubs of buttonbush and bayberry amid lower drifts of lobelia, aster, swamp mallow, goldenrod and winterberry.

From Washington Post • Sep. 14, 2021

Stankus and his wife, who’ve since died, gave money to build an observation deck that looks out over a buttonbush marsh.

From Washington Times • Sep. 17, 2016

In the pond, accumulating silt and the flow of freshwater have helped bring back aquatic vegetation and toughened the floating marshes rich in waving grasses and buttonbush, that teem with white ibis, egrets and herons.

From New York Times • Aug. 7, 2015

Thirty feet from the edge of the highway, we caught sight of the roof of a dark green van through the tangles of buttonbush along the river’s shore.

From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith