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

The elecampane has not always led a vagabond existence.

From Wild Flowers Worth Knowing by Blanchan, Neltje

Yet the elecampane has not always led a vagabond existence.

From Wild Flowers An Aid to Knowledge of Our Wild Flowers and Their Insect Visitors by Blanchan, Neltje

Take horehound herb, elecampane root, spikenard root, ginseng root, black cohosh, and skunk cabbage root, of each a good-sized handful.

From The Ladies Book of Useful Information Compiled from many sources by Anonymous

The stout stalks of elecampane with their large leaves and yellowish brown flowers were seen, and numerous small plants peeped from among their rich setting of vines and mosses.

From See America First by Hiestand, Orville O.