turtlehead

[ tur-tl-hed ]

noun

1. any of several North American plants belonging to the genus Chelone, of the figwort family, having opposite, serrated leaves and spikes of purple or white, two-lipped flowers.

Word History and Origins

Origin of turtlehead¹

1855–60, Americanism; turtle ¹ + head, so called from the appearance of its flower

Example Sentences

“No comfort for fascists!” said the turtlehead man.

From Seattle Times

You associate some of the lower plantings with moist soil — the royal fern, turtlehead and creeping phlox, for example — but others you’d think would run a mile from flood.

From Washington Post

At Cromwell Valley Park — a member of the recovery team — volunteers have planted four white turtlehead enclosures with high fences to protect the plants from deer.

From Washington Times

Habitat will be created with the turtlehead plants of which the butterflies are fond, he said by e-mail.

From Washington Post

They found compounds in the nectar of wild tobacco, linden, and white turtlehead flowers that cut the numbers of a common gut parasite in bumblebees by as much as 80 percent.

From Scientific American