butterwort

American  

[buht-er-wurt, -wawrt] / ˈbʌt ərˌwɜrt, -ˌwɔrt /

noun

1. any small, carnivorous plant of the genus Pinguicula, having leaves that secrete a viscid substance in which small insects are caught.

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butterwort British  

/ ˈbʌtəˌwɜːt /

noun

1. a plant of the genus Pinguicula , esp P. vulgaris , that grows in wet places and has violet-blue spurred flowers and fleshy greasy glandular leaves on which insects are trapped and digested: family Lentibulariaceae

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Etymology

Origin of butterwort

First recorded in 1590–1600; butter + wort ²

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

butterwort

By crossing a butterwort with a Venus's-flytrap, Seymour creates a new plant type, which he calls Audrey Jr. and which, it happens, feeds on human blood.

From Time Magazine Archive

The common butterwort is one of several plants which exude a sticky substance so that the leaves act like flypaper.

From Time Magazine Archive

Less accomplished in its task of assassination is the common butterwort to be found on wet rocks in scattered districts of Canada and the States adjoining Canada.

From Little Masterpieces of Science: The Naturalist as Interpreter and Seer by Iles, George

There is a little pink butterwort here in the bogs, which grows, too, in dear old Devonshire and Cornwall; and also in the south-west of Scotland. 

From Madam How and Lady Why by Kingsley, Charles

The order to which the butterwort and the bladderworts belong also afforded valuable results.

From Life of Charles Darwin by Bettany, G. T. (George Thomas)