pachysandra

[ pak-uh-san-druh ]

noun

1. any plant of the genus Pachysandra, as the Allegheny spurge or Japanese spurge, the leaves of which grow in a rounded clump, widely used as a ground cover in the U.S.

Word History and Origins

Origin of pachysandra¹

1805–15; < New Latin: the genus name, irregular from Greek pachýs thick + Greek andr- (stem of anḗr man; andro- ) + -a -a ²; so called in reference to the thick stamens of the male flowers