candytuft

American  

[kan-dee-tuhft] / ˈkæn diˌtʌft /

noun

1. a plant of the genus Iberis, of the mustard family, especially I. umbellata, an ornamental plant with tufted pink, violet, purple, or red flowers, originally from the island of Crete.

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candytuft British  

/ ˈkændɪˌtʌft /

noun

1. either of two species of Iberis grown as annual garden plants for their umbels ("tufts") of white, red, or purplish flowers See iberis

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Etymology

Origin of candytuft

1570–80; Candy (variant of Candia ) + tuft

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

candytuft

A colonel stood in a Tunisian valley sniffing at a handful of candytuft and Arabis and crimson poppies and yellow marguerites.

From Time Magazine Archive

Annuals.—African daisy, ageratum, aster, calendula, calliopsis, balsam, candytuft, cornflower, cosmos, marigold, mignonette, nasturtium, petunia, poppy, stock, sweet alyssum, sweet-pea, verbena, zinnia, annual phlox, red sunflower, cut-and-come-again sunflower.

From Ontario Teachers' Manuals: Household Science in Rural Schools by Ontario. Ministry of Education

Another snowy white flower is the perennial candytuft, Iberis.

From Trees, Fruits and Flowers of Minnesota, 1916 Embracing the Transactions of the Minnesota State Horticultural Society,Volume 44, from December 1, 1915, to December 1, 1916, Including the Twelve Numbers of "The Minnesota Horticulturist" for 1916 by A. W. Latham

The common candytuft of gardens is I. umbellata, a hardy annual, native of southern Europe, and known in a number of varieties differing in colour of flowers.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2 "Camorra" to "Cape Colony" by Various

In places, wild candytuft in blossom spreads a quilt of palest lavender in every direction on a wide circling horizon.

From The Black Opal by Katharine Susannah Prichard