deerweed

or deer weed

[ deer-weed ]

noun

1. any of several shrubby Californian plants belonging to the genus Lotus, of the legume family, especially L. scoparious, having pinnate leaves and clusters of yellow flowers.

Word History and Origins

Origin of deerweed¹

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15; deer + weed ¹

Example Sentences

“It’s a beautiful mix of pine and oak forest. Wonderful riparian areas too, though there isn’t a lot of surface water. It’s big so it’s a good bet. I was just up a couple weeks ago. The ceanothus blooms were stunning. The monkey flower, deerweed, penstemon and lupines were out in force too. Wildflower blooms last longer and start later the higher you go up in elevation. So quiet at certain times of the day. It’s an entirely different world than down in the valley.”

From Los Angeles Times

“It’s a beautiful mix of pine and oak forest. Wonderful riparian areas too, though there isn’t a lot of surface water. It’s big so it’s a good bet. I was just up a couple weeks ago. The ceanothus blooms were stunning. The monkey flower, deerweed, penstemon and lupines were out in force too. Wildflower blooms last longer and start later the higher you go up in elevation. So quiet at certain times of the day. It’s an entirely different world than down in the valley.”

From Los Angeles Times

Meanwhile, the Presidio Trust and other organizations worked to restore the butterflies’ native dunes, planting deerweed — a preferred host plant of the Xerces Blue and the Silvery Blue butterflies.

From Seattle Times

The design team’s plant palette for the crossing includes 30 species — local sages such as black sage, white sage and purple sage; buckwheat varieties including California buckwheat, long-stem buckwheat and ashy leaf buckwheat; wild grape; narrow-leaf milkweed; California bush sunflower; deerweed; penstemon; and needle grass and other grasses.

From Los Angeles Times

That specificity poses a problem: Deerweed and milk vetch are disturbance plants, which means they require some kind of soil disturbance — like fire — to sprout and outgrow the other plants around them.

From Los Angeles Times