mesembryanthemum

American  

[muh-zem-bree-an-thuh-muhm] / məˌzɛm briˈæn θə məm /

noun

1. any of various chiefly Old World plants of the genus Mesembryanthemum, having thick, fleshy leaves and often showy flowers.

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mesembryanthemum British  

/ mɪzˌɛmbrɪˈænθɪməm /

noun

1. any plant of a South African genus ( Mesembryanthemum ) of succulent-leaved prostrate or erect plants widely grown in gardens and greenhouses: family Aizoaceae See fig marigold ice plant Livingstone daisy

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Etymology

Origin of mesembryanthemum

< New Latin (Linnaeus), irregular < Greek mesēmbrí ( a ) midday + ánthemon flower

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mesembryanthemum

Our sheep nibbled at the mesembryanthemum, and the cattle ate greedily of various bushes whereof the leaf was sensibly salt to the taste.

From Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia by Mitchell, Thomas

Being sheltered from the north, and with a rich soil, every cottage garden luxuriates in great hedges of mesembryanthemum; and, as we find further west, the fuchsias grow like trees.

From The Cornwall Coast by Salmon, Arthur L. (Arthur Leslie)

The pass was too high for the aloe and mesembryanthemum to flourish, and the lava-bed which floored it was yet too new to have clothed itself in any of the larger mountain-loving trees.

From In the Morning of Time by Roberts, Charles George Douglas, Sir

Violets, pinks, crocuses, yellow and purple mesembryanthemum, lavender, myrtle, and rosemary … his two-mile view contained them all.

From The Prince and Betty by Wodehouse, P. G. (Pelham Grenville)

The Actinia mesembryanthemum is a very long-lived creature, and certain specimens are reported to have lived over twenty years in aquaria in England.

From Harper's Young People, April 13, 1880 An Illustrated Weekly by Various