goatsbeard

[ gohts-beerd ]

noun

1. any of several composite plants of the genus Tragopogon, especially T. pratensis, having yellow flower heads.
2. a plant, Aruncus dioicus, of the rose family, having pinnate leaves and long, slender spikes of small white flowers.

goatsbeard

/ ˈɡəʊtsˌbɪəd /

noun

1. Also calledJack-go-to-bed-at-noon a Eurasian plant, Tragopogon pratensis, with woolly stems and large heads of yellow rayed flowers surrounded by large green bracts: family Asteraceae (composites)
2. an American rosaceous plant, Aruncus sylvester, with long spikes of small white flowers

Word History and Origins

Origin of goatsbeard¹

1570–80; goat + -'s 1 + beard

Example Sentences

Drooping hemlocks, festooned with goatsbeard lichen, keep the spot in cool, somber gloom even on the hottest midday.

From Project Gutenberg

At 3 A.M. the yellow meadow goatsbeard awakes--also brides--and then, too, the stable-boy begins rattling and feeding the horses under the lodger.

From Project Gutenberg