Boneseed
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An upright shrub in the sunflower family (Osteospermum moniliferum, syn. Chrysanthemoides monilifera), native to South Africa but is an invasive pest in Australia and New Zealand. New-Zealand, countable, uncountable
- 2 Subspecies Osteospermum moniliferum subsp. monilifera (the subspecies Osteospermum moniliferum subsp. rotundata being known there as bitou bush) Australia, countable, uncountable
Etymology
From bone + seed, either directly as a description of the hard surface of the seeds, or indirectly as a calque of the name of its genus, Osteospermum, from Ancient Greek ὀστέον (ostéon, “bone”) + Ancient Greek σπέρμα (spérma, “seed”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.