elecampane

American  

[el-i-kam-peyn] / ˌɛl ɪ kæmˈpeɪn /

noun

1. a composite weed, Inula helenium, naturalized in North America, having large yellow flowers and aromatic leaves and root.

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elecampane British  

/ ˌɛlɪkæmˈpeɪn /

noun

1. a perennial flowering plant, Inula helenium, of Europe, Asia, and North America having large hairy leaves and narrow yellow petals: family Asteraceae (composites)

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Etymology

Origin of elecampane

1350–1400; Middle English, equivalent to Old English ele ( ne ), eolone (metathetic alteration of Medieval Latin enula, Latin inula elecampane) + Middle English campane < Medieval Latin campāna, equivalent to camp ( us ) field + -āna, feminine of -ānus -ane, -an

Example Sentences

God was in the details: in the petals of a cornflower or the veins of an elecampane leaf, in the grain of stone or the purling of a brook.

From Time Magazine Archive

You may have all the ginseng and Jimson weed and elecampane that you wish.

From The Tale of Old Mr. Crow by Bailey, Arthur Scott

"I just saw a nice plant o' elecampane growin' back there," she said presently to her daughter.

From The Country of the Pointed Firs by Jewett, Sarah Orne

The root of elecampane gathered in the fall, scraped, sliced, and strung with a needle and thread to dry, will keep its strength for several years, and is useful for a cough with hoarhound.

From Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers by Lea, Elizabeth E. (Elizabeth Ellicott)

This was in pennyroyal time, and when the rare lobelia was in its prime and the elecampane was coming on.

From The Country of the Pointed Firs by Jewett, Sarah Orne