sempervivum

American  

[sem-per-vahy-vuhm] / ˌsɛm pərˈvaɪ vəm /

noun

1. any of various succulent plants belonging to the genus Sempervivum, of the stonecrop family, having leaves in dense basal rosettes and a compact, flat-topped cluster of flowers, and including the houseleek, S. tectorum, and other commonly cultivated species.

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sempervivum British  

/ ˌsɛmpəˈvaɪvəm /

noun

1. See houseleek

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Etymology

Origin of sempervivum

< New Latin: genus name, Late Latin sempervīvum houseleek, equivalent to Latin semper always + vīvum, neuter singular of vīvus alive, in reference to the plant's durable qualities

Example Sentences

A kind more often seen is sempervivum montanum, and certainly it is a very handsome species, with curious flowers supported on firm succulent red stems.

From Small Gardens and How to Make the Most of Them by Biddle, Violet Purton

Still, when Tulasne cultivated Endophyllum sempervivum, he obtained on some perfectly isolated rosettes of Sempervivum some Æcidium richly provided with normal and fertile spores, without any trace of spermogonia or of spermatia.

From Fungi: Their Nature and Uses by Cooke, M. C. (Mordecai Cubitt)