noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A bitter American herb of the bloodwort family (Haemodoraceae), with small yellow or white flowers in a long spike.
2. 2
   any of several perennials of the genus Aletris having grasslike leaves and bitter roots reputed to cure colic wordnet
3. 3
   Any of several other plants with bitter roots.; Aletris spp. (crow corn)
4. 4
   Any of several other plants with bitter roots.; Apocynum androsaemifolium (flytrap dogbane)
5. 5
   Any of several other plants with bitter roots.; Asarum canadense (wild ginger)

Show 3 more definitions

6. 6
   Any of several other plants with bitter roots.; Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed)
7. 7
   Any of several other plants with bitter roots.; Dioscorea villosa (Chinaroot, wild yam)
8. 8
   Any of several other plants with bitter roots.; Liatris squarrosa (scaly blazingstar)

Synonyms

All synonyms

blazing starblazing starcolic rootcrow cornstar grassunicorn root

Etymology

From colic + root.

Related phrases

asarum canadenseasclepias tuberosa

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.