Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of several perennial herbs of the genus Petasites in the composite family, native to northern temperate regions and having large basal leaves and dense clusters of usually whitish or purplish flower heads.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A name of the sweet coltsfoot, Petasites vulgaris. Also called butter-dock.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Bot.) A broad-leaved plant (Petasites vulgaris) of the Composite family, said to have been used in England for wrapping up pats of butter.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun botany Any of several Eurasian herbs, of the genus Petasites, have dense clusters of often purple flowers

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun small Eurasian herb having broad leaves and lilac-pink rayless flowers; found in moist areas

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

butter +‎ bur

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Examples

  • By dietary change, by use of natural products like vitamin B2, riboflavin, there's an interesting herb called butterbur that looks effective for reducing frequency of migraine.

    CNN Transcript Nov 10, 2004 2004

  • Some find benefit in herbal remedies, such as butterbur, which appears to be safe if taken for a short period to prevent migraines.

    Migraines: Options Prevent /Treat Pounding Pain | Impact Lab 2007

  • Where the river Browney meets the Wear, the path plunged between ancient oaks and shoulder-high stands of butterbur leaves.

    Country diary: Low Burnhall, Durham 2011

  • Some butterbur products contain chemicals called unsaturated pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which can harm the liver.

    Supplements and herbal remedies may ease migraines 2010

  • One favorite at the moment is butterbur, also called Petasites hybridus.

    Companies Cashing In On Allergies 2010

  • To soothe his headache, and prevent the fever fits I feared would come, I added butterbur root to the gruel of elder buds and barley, and sweetened it generously with honey, and gave it to Tobe on my thumb to suck.

    Wildfire Sarah Micklem 2009

  • To soothe his headache, and prevent the fever fits I feared would come, I added butterbur root to the gruel of elder buds and barley, and sweetened it generously with honey, and gave it to Tobe on my thumb to suck.

    Wildfire Sarah Micklem 2009

  • To soothe his headache, and prevent the fever fits I feared would come, I added butterbur root to the gruel of elder buds and barley, and sweetened it generously with honey, and gave it to Tobe on my thumb to suck.

    Wildfire Sarah Micklem 2009

  • The only herbal remedy with documented effectiveness against the seasonal sniffles is butterbur, which may reduce levels of chemicals that can set off the body's allergic response.

    Q&A: Honey for allergies? 2008

  • Read more about herbal remedies for hay fever (free), and read our Natural Medicine Ratings for butterbur (subscribers only).

    Q&A: Honey for allergies? 2008

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