enchanter's nightshade

noun

1. any of several plants belonging to the genus Circaea, of the evening primrose family, of cool and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, having white flowers.

enchanter's nightshade

noun

1. any of several onagraceous plants of the genus Circaea, esp C. lutetiana, having small white flowers and bristly fruits

Word History and Origins

Origin of enchanter's nightshade¹

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

As a consolation for what was at the time a disappointment, Herbert Spencer made a herbarium, which still retained in 1894 a specimen of Enchanter's Nightshade gathered in the grove skirting the river near Darley.

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The road wound half-way up the side of the spur, and the rough hillside with its beech forests, amongst the leaves of which twined the enchanter's nightshade, swept downwards in bold curves into a wild moorland, covered with purple heather and golden broom.

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The pignut flowers died, and the enchanter's nightshade had sent up its faint spires in dark places before the White Rabbit realised her powers.

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Enchanter's Nightshade, a name common to plants of the genus Circ�a, nat. ord.

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Now, it is interesting to turn from the old Jewish historian to the old English herbalist, Gerarde, who in 1597 wrote in his Herball pointing out how, by 'the corruption of time and the errour of some,' mandragora has been mistaken for what he calls Circaea, or Enchanter's Nightshade.

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