Mezereum

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of shrub recognized for its aromatic blooms and hazardous characteristics
2. A flowering plant distinguished by its red fruit and historical medicinal applications
3. A shrub known for its scented blossoms and toxic red fruit historically used in medicine

Etymology: The plant's name travelled a long way before it reached English. Medieval Latin speakers borrowed it as "mezereon" or "mezereum" from Arabic "māzaryūn", and the Arabic term was in turn taken from Persian, where it designated the same shrub. Its ultimate origin lies in that Persian word, which Arabic physicians and pharmacists adopted as they wrote about the plant's medicinal uses. The shrub itself is the daphne mezereum, a small European woody plant that flowers in late winter, often before its leaves appear, with clusters of intensely fragrant pink or purple blossoms. Its bark and berries were prized in medicine, but they are also highly poisonous, a combination that made the plant a staple of both herbal practice and cautionary lore.