groundsel

¹ American  

[ground-suhl] / ˈgraʊnd səl /

noun

1. any composite plant of the genus Senecio, especially S. vulgaris, a common weed having clusters of small yellow disk flowers without rays.

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groundsel ² American  

[ground-suhl] / ˈgraʊnd səl /

noun

1. groundsill.

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groundsel British  

/ ˈɡraʊnsəl /

noun

1. any of certain plants of the genus Senecio, esp S. vulgaris, a Eurasian weed with heads of small yellow flowers: family Asteraceae (composites) See also ragwort

2. a shrub, Baccharis halimifolia, of E North America, with white plumelike fruits: family Asteraceae

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Etymology

Origin of groundsel

before 900; Middle English grundeswili ( e ), groundeswel, Old English grundeswelge, gundeswelge; compare Old English gund pus, swelgan to swallow, absorb (from its use in medicine); the -r- is by folk etymology from association with ground ¹

Example Sentences

It ripped off every groundsel leaf, leaving the limbs bare.

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

He crashed into a hill of groundsel bushes and wedged his way into their dense center.

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

It may be added that it is known that the fungus can go on being reproduced by the uredospores on the groundsel plants which live through the winter.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 664, September 22,1888 by Various

The groundsel tree has been cultivated in British gardens since 1683.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 5 "Greek Law" to "Ground-Squirrel" by Various

London, Edinburgh, and Paris were dying for want of watering, and nothing seemed to flourish in Lubin's Europe but such things as groundsel and chickweed.

From The Crown of Success by A. L. O. E.