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lousewort

[lous-wurt, -wawrt]
noun
  1. any plant belonging to the genus Pedicularis, of the figwort family, as the wood betony, formerly supposed to cause lice in sheep feeding on it: one species, P. furbishiae (Furbish lousewort), of parts of Maine and New Brunswick, Canada, having finely toothed leaves and a cluster of yellow flowers, is endangered and was thought to be extinct until specimens were discovered in 1946 and again in 1976.
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Origin of lousewort

First recorded in 1570–80; louse + wort2
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for lousewort

Historical Examples of lousewort

  • The flowers of this Lousewort are yellowish and occur in crowded heads on low spreading stems, 4-6 in.

    Flowers of Mountain and Plain

    Edith S. Clements

  • The Lousewort is a small plant and does not rise very far above the ground.

  • The stem of the Lousewort is hairy, and the leaves grow very close to it.

British Dictionary definitions for lousewort

lousewort

noun
  1. any of various N temperate scrophulariaceous plants of the genus Pedicularis, having spikes of white, yellow, or mauve flowersSee also betony (def. 3)
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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