candytuft

American  

[kan-dee-tuhft] / ˈkæn diˌtʌft /

noun

1. a plant of the genus Iberis, of the mustard family, especially I. umbellata, an ornamental plant with tufted pink, violet, purple, or red flowers, originally from the island of Crete.

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candytuft British  

/ ˈkændɪˌtʌft /

noun

1. either of two species of Iberis grown as annual garden plants for their umbels ("tufts") of white, red, or purplish flowers See iberis

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Etymology

Origin of candytuft

1570–80; Candy (variant of Candia ) + tuft

Example Sentences

A colonel stood in a Tunisian valley sniffing at a handful of candytuft and Arabis and crimson poppies and yellow marguerites.

From Time Magazine Archive

Darling pea, the colour of violets and smelling like them, threads through the candytuft and lies in wedges, magenta and dark purple against the sky-line, a hundred miles farther on.

From The Black Opal by Prichard, Katharine Susannah

Then he drank, and looked at the garden ablaze with flowers—blush-roses and damask roses, and sweet-williams and candytuft, white lilies and yellow lilies, pansies, larkspur, poppies, bergamot, and sage.

From Harding's luck by Millar, H. R. (Harold Robert)

"There's a dwarf pink candytuft that couldn't be beaten for the purpose," said James decisively.

From Ethel Morton's Enterprise by Smith, Mabell S. C. (Mabell Shippie Clarke)

Outside of this, successive rings of orange marigolds, purple asters, scarlet geraniums and candytuft, with a final fringe of blue cornflowers.

From The Cinder Pond by Rankin, Carroll Watson