fleabane

[flee-beyn]

noun

any of various composite plants, as Pulicaria dysenterica, of Europe, or Erigeron philadelphicus, of the U.S., reputed to destroy or drive away fleas.

Origin of fleabane

First recorded in 1540–50; flea + bane

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fleabane

Historical Examples of fleabane

Our fleabane is a troublesome weed at times, but good husbandry has little to dread from it.
A Year in the Fields
John Burroughs

British Dictionary definitions for fleabane

fleabane

noun

any of several plants of the genus Erigeron, such as E. acer, having purplish tubular flower heads with orange centres: family Asteraceae (composites)

any of several plants of the related genus Pulicaria, esp the Eurasian P. dysenterica, which has yellow daisy-like flower heads

Canadian fleabane a related plant, Conyza (or Erigeron) canadensis, with small white tubular flower headsUS name: horseweed

any of various other plants reputed to ward off fleas

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