hen-and-chickens

American  

[hen-uhn-chik-uhnz] / ˈhɛn ənˈtʃɪk ənz /

noun

plural

hens-and-chickens

1. any of several succulent plants that grow in clusters or colonies formed by runners or offshoots, as those of the genera Echeveria and Sempervivum.

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hen-and-chickens British  

noun

1. (functioning as singular or plural) any of several plants, such as the houseleek and ground ivy, that produce many offsets or runners

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Etymology

Origin of hen-and-chickens

First recorded in 1785–95

Example Sentences

On the uplands the grass would be strewn with buttercups, with hen-and-chickens, with black-centered yellow violets.

From Literature

Owing to their habit of producing a circle of young plants around the parent, they are commonly called "hen-and-chickens."

From Project Gutenberg

Blooming somewhat earlier than the "hen-and-chickens," but in similar situations, the stonecrop often clothes rock-masses with beautiful color.

From Project Gutenberg

The sterile bracts of the daisy occasionally produce capitula, and give rise to the hen-and-chickens daisy.

From Project Gutenberg

This hen-and-chickens kind of thinking led the Germans into a disastrous war under the leadership of an articulate, power-mad Hitler.

From Time Magazine Archive