ground ivy

noun

1. a creeping, aromatic plant, Glechoma hederacea, of the mint family, having rounded leaves and whorling clusters of small blue flowers.

ground ivy

noun

1. a creeping or trailing Eurasian aromatic herbaceous plant, Glechoma (or Nepeta ) hederacea, with scalloped leaves and purplish-blue flowers: family Lamiaceae (labiates)

Word History and Origins

Origin of ground ivy¹

Middle English word dating back to 1300–50

Example Sentences

Forget the impending dandelions and violets; I’m talking about established winter weeds, whose roots now go deep — interlopers like henbit, chickweed, bittercress and ground ivy.

From Seattle Times

Or I might drop to my knees and rip back clumps of ground ivy trying to creep in from the garden’s edges.

From Washington Times

Most of us with these afflictions tend to ignore the swamp and wonder why the turf is struggling amid the spreading moss and ground ivy.

From Washington Post

It was designed to control weeds such as dandelions, clover, thistle, plantains and ground ivy.

From Reuters

It has low toxicity to mammals, works at low concentrations and can kill weeds that other herbicides have trouble vanquishing like ground ivy, henbit and wild violets.

From New York Times