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carrion flower

noun
  1. any of several North American climbing plants of the genus Smilax, especially S. herbacea, having small white flowers with an odor of carrion.
  2. Also called starfish flower. any of various succulent plants of the genus Stapelia, of southern Africa, having spotted or variegated flowers often with a fetid odor.
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Origin of carrion flower

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for carrion flower

Historical Examples

  • July 24: Bundles of green leaves of osage orange and carrion-flower; many pods of honey locust.

    Ecological Observations on the Woodrat, Neotoma floridana

    Henry S. Fitch

British Dictionary definitions for carrion flower

carrion flower

noun
  1. a liliaceous climbing plant, Smilax herbacea of E North America, whose small green flowers smell like decaying flesh
  2. any of several other plants, esp any of the genus Stapelia, whose flowers have an unpleasant odour
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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