Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun plural A brownish eastern North American plant (Epifagus virginiana) having scalelike leaves and whitish tubular flowers with brown-purple stripes. It is parasitic on the roots of the American beech tree, Fagus grandifolia.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Epifagus virginiana or Epifagus americana, a
parasitic plant which grows on theroots ofbeech trees.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
beech + drops
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Examples
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Leafless herbs like beechdrops, lavender toothwort, and various bright-flowered small orchids, often without green leaves, were everywhere, growing from the roots of other living plants or their decaying remains.
The Plains of Passage Auel, Jean M. 1990
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"Then I think these would be called 'beechdrops,'" she said, getting up and brushing her hands together to dust them off.
The Plains of Passage Auel, Jean M. 1990
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She implies that "unlimited growth would eventually lead to the end of beech trees and beechdrops."
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