Calabar bean
noun
the violently poisonous seed of an African climbing plant, Physostigma venenosum, of the legume family, the active principle of which is physostigmine.
Origin of Calabar bean
11875–80; named after Calabar, Nigeria
- Also called ordeal bean.
Words Nearby Calabar bean
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
British Dictionary definitions for Calabar bean
Calabar bean
/ (ˌkæləˈbɑː, ˈkæləˌbɑː) /
noun
the dark brown very poisonous seed of a leguminous woody climbing plant, Physostigma venenosum of tropical Africa, used as a source of the drug physostigmine
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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