orchis

American  

[awr-kis] / ˈɔr kɪs /

noun

1. any orchid.

2. any of various terrestrial orchids, especially of the genus Orchis, of temperate regions, having spikelike flowers.

3. fringed orchis.

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orchis British  

/ ˈɔːkɪs /

noun

1. any terrestrial orchid of the N temperate genus Orchis, having fleshy tubers and spikes of typically pink flowers

2. any of various temperate or tropical orchids of the genus Habenaria, such as the fringed orchis

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Etymology

Origin of orchis

1555–65; < Latin < Greek órchis testicle, plant with roots like testicles

Example Sentences

The same can be said of salep, a fine powder ground from dried orchis tubers used in the Middle East to thicken ice cream.

From Newsweek

The spotted orchis is a sweet-scented Highland moorland gem, but right glad I was to find it meeting me on the banks of Northumberland.

From The Cruise of the Land-Yacht "Wanderer" Thirteen Hundred Miles in my Caravan by Stables, Gordon

Among the flowers brought on board by the young girl was a deep blue orchis.

From Due North or Glimpses of Scandinavia and Russia by Ballou, Maturin Murray

With my gun under my arm I used to look at the orchis from time to time, so long as the spotted leaves were visible, till the grass grew too long.

From The Toilers of the Field by Jefferies, Richard

In Northern California and Oregon is occasionally found a rare and curious plant—the "phantom orchis," Cephalanthera Oregana, Richenb.f.

From The Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits by Parsons, Mary Elizabeth