painted cup

American  

noun

1. any of several semiparasitic plants of the genus Castilleja, of the figwort family, having highly colored dilated bracts about the flowers.

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Etymology

Origin of painted cup

First recorded in 1780–90

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

painted cup

She drinks out of a painted cup of birch-bark, and neither more nor less than the quantity it holds.

From Balder the Beautiful, Volume I. A Study in Magic and Religion: the Golden Bough, Part VII., The Fire-Festivals of Europe and the Doctrine of the External Soul by Frazer, James George, Sir

The roots of our painted cup occasionally break in and steal from the roots of its neighbors such juices as the plant must work over into vegetable tissue.

From Wild Flowers Worth Knowing by Blanchan, Neltje

The painted cup has faded from rosy pink to a dull, ashy color, and the few wild roses which are still to be seen in the shaded places have paled to a pastel shade.

From The Next of Kin Those who Wait and Wonder by McClung, Nellie L.

Then come the meadow lilies and the painted cup and so on, until in late October you can not see the old fence for the goldenrod, asters and gentians.

From Green Valley by Reynolds, Katharine

The bright flame of the painted cup and the purple of the asters still lighted up the aisles of the pines in sheltered places.

From The Spirit of Sweetwater by Garland, Hamlin