rattlesnake weed

American  

noun

1. a hawkweed, Hieracium venosum, of eastern North America, whose leaves and root are thought to possess medicinal properties.

2. a carrotlike weed, Daucus pusillus, of southern and western North America.

3. any of certain other plants, as an umbelliferous plant, Eryngium aquaticum.

4. rattlesnake plantain.

---

Etymology

Origin of rattlesnake weed

An Americanism dating back to 1750–60

Example Sentences

In Arkansas, where he worked as a bullwhacker, he came down with malaria, which he tried to treat with a patent medicine called Orang Utan Liniment and teas brewed from rattlesnake weed.

From Time Magazine Archive

They have several plants, known by the names of rattlesnake root, rattlesnake weed, and snake root.

From Lady Mary and her Nurse by Traill, Catharine Parr Strickland