Xanthium

2 definitions found

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

  Xanthium \Xan"thi*um\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. xa`nqion a plant used
     for dyeing the hair yellow, said to be the {Xanthium
     strumarium}, from xanqo`s yellow.] (Bot.)
     A genus of composite plants in which the scales of the
     involucre are united so as to form a kind of bur; cocklebur;
     clotbur.


     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Xanthium
       n : coarse herbs having small heads of greenish flowers followed
           by burrs with hooked bristles [syn: {genus Xanthium}]