beechdrops

[ beech-drops ]

noun

, (used with a singular or plural verb)

1. a low plant, Epifagus virginiana, of the broomrape family, without green foliage, parasitic upon the roots of the beech.

Word History and Origins

Origin of beechdrops¹

An Americanism dating back to 1805–15; beech + drop + -s ³

Example Sentences

Such plants, however, as the broomrape, pinesap, beechdrops, the Indian pipe, and the dodder - which marks the lowest stage of degradation of them all - appear among their race branded with the mark of crime as surely as was Cain.

From Project Gutenberg