Cul·ver's root

(kŭl′vərz)

1. A perennial herb (Veronicastrum virginicum) native to eastern North America, having whorled leaves and small white or pinkish flowers in slender spikes.

2. The rootstock of this plant, formerly used in medicine as a cathartic and an emetic.

[After Culver, 18th-century American physician.]

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.

Culver's root

(ˈkʌlvəz) or

Culver's physic

1. (Plants) a tall North American scrophulariaceous plant, Veronicastrum virginicum, having spikes of small white or purple flowers

2. (Pharmacology) the dried roots of this plant, formerly used as a cathartic and emetic

[C19: named after a Dr Culver, 18th-century American physician]

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

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

Culver's root - a tall perennial herb having spikes of small white or purple flowers; common in eastern North America

Culvers physic, Culver's physic, Culvers root, Veronicastrum virginicum, whorlywort

asterid dicot genus - genus of more or less advanced dicotyledonous herbs and some trees and shrubs

family Scrophulariaceae, figwort family, foxglove family, Scrophulariaceae - a family of dicotyledonous plants of the order Polemoniales; includes figwort and snapdragon and foxglove and toadflax and speedwell and mullein; in some classifications placed in the order Scrophulariales

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References in periodicals archive

Culver's root plants (Veronicastrum virginicum) have been blooming for weeks in the dappled shade of my backyard.

Culver's root brightens my garden like a candelabra

In flowerbeds it can serve as a groundcover between other larger perennials such as Joe Pye, New England Aster, or Culver's Root. It can also be mixed with wildflowers and prairie grasses to create a low maintenance, prairie meadow.

Northern Bedstraw

Meanwhile, seeds of lobelia, echinacea, culver's root and astragalus make their way to the refrigerator in wet, moist sand for 30 days of stratification before they are patted into the surface of our potting mix.

Timely gardening tips for where you live