hen-and-chickens

[ hen-uhn-chik-uhnz ]

noun

, plural hens-and-chickens.

1. any of several succulent plants that grow in clusters or colonies formed by runners or offshoots, as those of the genera Echeveria and Sempervivum.

hen-and-chickens

noun

1. functioning as singular or plural any of several plants, such as the houseleek and ground ivy, that produce many offsets or runners

Word History and Origins

Origin of hen-and-chickens¹

First recorded in 1785–95

Example Sentences

On the uplands the grass would be strewn with buttercups, with hen-and-chickens, with black-centered yellow violets.

From Literature

Owing to their habit of producing a circle of young plants around the parent, they are commonly called "hen-and-chickens."

From Project Gutenberg

Blooming somewhat earlier than the "hen-and-chickens," but in similar situations, the stonecrop often clothes rock-masses with beautiful color.

From Project Gutenberg

The sterile bracts of the daisy occasionally produce capitula, and give rise to the hen-and-chickens daisy.

From Project Gutenberg

This hen-and-chickens kind of thinking led the Germans into a disastrous war under the leadership of an articulate, power-mad Hitler.

From Time Magazine Archive