but·ter-and-eggs

(bŭt′ər-ən-ĕgz′)

pl.n. (used with a sing. or pl. verb)

A weedy perennial herb (Linaria vulgaris) native to Eurasia, having narrow leaves and racemes of showy, long-spurred yellow and orange flowers.

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.

butter-and-eggs

(Plants) (functioning as singular) any of various plants, such as toadflax, the flowers of which are of two shades of yellow

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

but′ter-and-eggs′

n., pl. but•ter-and-eggs. (used with a sing. or pl. v.)

any of several plants whose flowers are of two shades of yellow, as the toadflax.

[1770–80]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

butter-and-eggs - common European perennial having showy yellow and orange flowers; a naturalized weed in North America

devil's flax, Linaria vulgaris, toadflax, wild snapdragon

flower - a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms

genus Linaria, Linaria - genus of herbs and subshrubs having showy flowers: spurred snapdragon

blue toadflax, Linaria canadensis, old-field toadflax - North American plant having racemes of blue-violet flowers

References in periodicals archive

Once reviled as an out-of-control weed, butter-and-eggs today is considered to be a refined and delicate wild flower.

An attractive plant, butter-and-eggs found favor as an ornamental in gardens across Europe and throughout the Mediterranean area before it was brought to America no later than 1672.

Found throughout the United States, butter-and-eggs is common in the East but is restricted to scattered local sites on the Pacific Coast.

Butter-and-eggs: roadside weed finds favor as garden flower