wood betony

noun

1. the betony, Stachys officinalis.
2. a hairy lousewort, Pedicularis canadensis, native to eastern North America, having deeply lobed leaves and a dense cluster of yellow or red tubular flowers.

Word History and Origins

Origin of wood betony¹

First recorded in 1650–60

Example Sentences

In the May woods are the red and yellow flowers of the Wood Betony and the bell-shaped flowers of Solomon's Seal.

From Project Gutenberg

Conspicuous among them are the Centaury, with its elegant cluster of small, pink, star-like flowers; the Ladies’ Bed-straw, with its rich yellow tufts; the Meadow-sweet—sweetest of all the sweeteners of the Meadows; the Wood Betony, lifting up its handsome head of rose-coloured blossoms; and, still in full perfection, and towering up from among the low groundlings that usually surround it, the stately Fox-glove.

From Project Gutenberg

Parkinson, who enlarged the Herbal of Gerard, pronounced the leaves and flowers of Wood Betony, "by their sweet and spicy taste, comfortable both in meate and medicine."

From Project Gutenberg

Meyrick says, inveterate headaches after resisting every other remedy, have been cured by taking daily at breakfast a decoction made from the leaves and tops of the Wood Betony.

From Project Gutenberg

Wood Betony; Lousewort; Beefsteak Plant; High Heal-all Pedicularis canadensis Flowers—Greenish yellow and purplish red, in a short, dense spike.

From Project Gutenberg