can·dy·tuft

(kăn′dē-tŭft′)

Any of several plants of the genus Iberis in the mustard family, native to Europe and the Mediterranean region and widely cultivated for their showy clusters of white, pink, crimson, or purple flowers.

[Obsolete Candy (variant of Candia¹) + tuft.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

candytuft

(ˈkændɪˌtʌft)

(Plants) either of two species of Iberis grown as annual garden plants for their umbels ("tufts") of white, red, or purplish flowers. See iberis

[C17: from Candy, obsolete variant of Candia (Crete) + tuft]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

can•dy•tuft

(ˈkæn diˌtʌft)

n.

any of various small plants of the genus Iberis, of the mustard family, with tufted white, pink, or lavender flowers.

[1570–80; Candy (variant of Candia) + tuft]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

candytuft - any of various flowering plants of the genus Iberis cultivated for their showy clusters of white to red or purple flowers; native to Mediterranean region

flower - a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms

genus Iberis, Iberis - Old World herbs and subshrubs: candytuft

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

Also known as candytufts, they are Iberis sempervirens - a perennial semievergreen plant.

Pink 'n' perky

Flowers surged forth from the table like water overflowing a glass, perfumed and wild, birds-of-paradise and hollyhocks, anthurium and tea roses, thistle and heather and columbines and crocuses and daffodils and poppies and verbena and coxcombs and zinnias and sweet-peas and wisteria and candytufts and ragged robins and larkspur and chrysanthemums and more that may not have even had names or that I couldn't name, but that spilled onto the floor anyway in waves and waves of colors and perfumes until I was dizzy.

The reach of wonder

Plant bulbs in clusters of half a dozen or more at the front of a border, in a rock garden, in small containers, or among low-growing plants such as candytufts, Johnny-jump-ups, pansies, and Vinca minor.

Diminutive daffodils