Asarabacca

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A low-growing wild plant of Europe with glossy kidney-shaped leaves and a strong aromatic scent, once used in medicine and perfumery
2. An evergreen herb of the birthwort family whose fragrant leaves and roots were traditionally prized for their emetic and medicinal properties
3. A small European wildflower with shiny rounded leaves, historically valued for its pungent roots and as a source of aromatic oils

Etymology: Asarabacca is a wild European plant with dark, glossy leaves and small brownish flowers that hug the ground, and its name is a compound of two Latin words. The first, "asarum", was the classical name for the plant itself, a term the Romans borrowed from Greek and used for medicinal herbs of this kind. The second, "baccar", was a Latin name for a related plant, and the two were joined into a single name. The result is a word that preserves two ancient plant names side by side, one of which has largely vanished from everyday use.

Synonyms: wild nard