lousewort

American  

[lous-wurt, -wawrt] / ˈlaʊsˌwɜrt, -ˌwɔrt /

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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lousewort British  

/ ˈlaʊsˌwɜːt /

noun

1. any of various N temperate scrophulariaceous plants of the genus Pedicularis, having spikes of white, yellow, or mauve flowers See also betony

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Etymology

Origin of lousewort

First recorded in 1570–80; louse + wort ²

Example Sentences

Indeed, the decision could affect at least eleven other projects, including the proposed $690 million Dickey-Lincoln Dam in Maine, which would endanger the Furbish lousewort, a rare plant that resembles the snapdragon.

From Time Magazine Archive

Biologically, the Furbish lousewort is a native American.

From Time Magazine Archive

Shirley Lontz Moorhead, Minn. Regarding your reference to the Furbish lousewort as a weed.

From Time Magazine Archive

Like the lousewort, which stalled a $690 million hydroelectric project in Maine, the snail darter is an endangered species protected by a federal law.

From Time Magazine Archive

The very plants were unknown to them—pink lousewort with its sprays of hooked flowers, bog asphodel and the thin-stemmed blooms of the sundews, rising above their hairy, fly-catching mouths, all shut fast by night.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams