frostweed Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun perennial of the eastern United States having early solitary yellow flowers followed by late petalless flowers; so-called because ice crystals form on it during first frosts
    frost-weed; frostwort; Helianthemum canadense; Crocanthemum canadense.
  2. noun tall perennial herb having clusters of white flowers; the eastern United States
    Verbesina virginica; frost-weed; Virginia crownbeard.

WordNet


Frost"weed` noun
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) An American species of rockrose (Helianthemum Canadense), sometimes used in medicine as an astringent or aromatic tonic. ✍ It has large yellow flowers which are often sterile, and later it has abundant but inconspicuous flowers which bear seed. It is so called because, late in autumn, crystals of ice shoot from the cracked bark at the root; -- called also frostwort.

Webster 1913