moonseed

American  

[moon-seed] / ˈmunˌsid /

noun

1. any climbing plant of the genus Menispermum, having greenish-white flowers and crescent-shaped seeds.

2. Carolina moonseed.

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moonseed British  

/ ˈmuːnˌsiːd /

noun

1. any menispermaceous climbing plant of the genus Menispermum and related genera, having red or black fruits with crescent-shaped or ring-shaped seeds

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Etymology

Origin of moonseed

First recorded in 1730–40; moon + seed

Example Sentences

A space mission returns to Earth with a lump of rock containing a mysterious nano-substance called “moonseed” that converts all inorganic matter into moonseed.

From The Guardian • May 8, 2019

When she finished she picked up a trailing vine of moonseed.

From The Harvester by Stratton-Porter, Gene

She learned the uses and prices of the plant, and also made drawings of cohosh, moonseed and bloodroot.

From The Harvester by Stratton-Porter, Gene

On the wooded slopes there are the white fruits of the baneberry on its quaintly-shaped red stalks, the pretty fruit clusters of the moonseed and the smilax.

From Some Summer Days in Iowa by Lazell, Frederick John

You see it on cultivated plums, grapes, and apples, but never in any such perfection as on moonseed and black haws in the woods.

From The Harvester by Stratton-Porter, Gene