Coolwort

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A low-growing woodland herb of the saxifrage family, bearing small flowers in spikes above its leaves
2. Any of several small shade-loving perennial plants of the saxifrage family, often grown as groundcover
3. A small perennial herb that favors cool, shaded woodland and produces clusters of tiny blossoms

Etymology: Coolwort is a plant name formed in English from two common words: "cool," meaning shade or a cool place, and "wort," the Old English word for a plant or herb, which survives in names like St John's wort and liverwort. The compound is a transparent description rather than a coinage with a famous author. Its plants are a group of small, shade-loving herbs, among them the foamflower and certain saxifrages, and the name points to the cool, damp woodland floor where they grow.

Synonyms: foamflower