Ecballium

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Ecballium \Ec*bal"li*um\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ?. See {Ecbole}.]
     (Bot.)
     A genus of cucurbitaceous plants consisting of the single
     species Ecballium agreste (or Elaterium), the squirting
     cucumber. Its fruit, when ripe, bursts and violently ejects
     its seeds, together with a mucilaginous juice, from which


     elaterium, a powerful cathartic medicine, is prepared.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Ecballium
       n : exploding cucumber; squirting cucumber [syn: {genus
           Ecballium}]