water willow

American  

noun

1. any of several plants belonging to the genus Justicia, of the acanthus family, growing in water or wet places, especially J. americana, of North America, having clusters of pale violet to white flowers.

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Etymology

Origin of water willow

First recorded in 1575–85

Example Sentences

Largemouth bass are fair on worms and jigs in shallow water willow vegetation or around private docks and cover.

From Washington Times • Oct. 9, 2019

Largemouth bass are fair on worms and jigs in shallow water willow or around docks.

From Washington Times • Oct. 2, 2019

The water willow has the same delicate foliage and the same habit, under an April sky, of gleaming with a drapery of golden verdure among the still-naked trees of the forest or orchard.

From Among the Trees at Elmridge by Church, Ella Rodman

The water willow, Salix Purshiana, when it is of large size and entire, is the most graceful and ethereal of our trees.

From A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers by Thoreau, Henry David

The robin piped his morning song for him; The wild crab there exhaled its rathe perfume; The loon laughed loud and by the river's brim The water willow waved its verdant plume.

From The Hills of Hingham by Sharp, Dallas Lore