oyster plant

American  

noun

1. salsify.

2. sea lungwort.

3. Moses-in-the-cradle.

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oyster plant British  

noun

1. salsify or sea lungwort See salsify lungwort

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Etymology

Origin of oyster plant

An Americanism dating back to 1815–25

Example Sentences

About 30 oyster-processing plants have run out of product and shut down, putting as many as 900 people out of work, said Wayne Eldridge, owner of J&W Marine Enterprises and an oyster plant operator himself.

From Reuters • May 9, 2010

VEGETABLES.—Cabbage, carrots, turnips, parsnips, beets, pumpkins, chives, celery, winter squash, onions, white and sweet potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes, chiccory, Brussels-sprouts, kale-sprouts, oyster plant, leeks, cress, cauliflower.

From The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) Cooking, Toilet and Household Recipes, Menus, Dinner-Giving, Table Etiquette, Care of the Sick, Health Suggestions, Facts Worth Knowing, Etc., Etc. The Whole Comprising a Comprehensive Cyclopedia of Information for the Home by Gillette, F. L. (Fanny Lemira)

Here and there, amid their inextricable confusion, stands, like a chandelier with spreading, orange flowers for lights, the fierce Spanish oyster plant, whose spikes are strong as nails.

From The Life of the fly; with which are interspersed some chapters of autobiography by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander

Its armor hardly yields before that of the oyster plant.

From The Life of the fly; with which are interspersed some chapters of autobiography by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander

The oyster plant is used for this delicious dish—by many it is known as salsify.

From The Suffrage Cook Book by Kleber, L. O., Mrs.