bush : Idioms & Phrases

Index


american cranberry bush

  • noun deciduous North American shrub or small tree having three-lobed leaves and red berries
    Viburnum trilobum; highbush cranberry; American cranberry bush; cranberry tree.
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beach plum bush

  • noun seacoast shrub of northeastern North America having showy white blossoms and edible purple fruit
    beach plum; Prunus maritima.
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beat around the bush

  • verb be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information
    equivocate; tergiversate; palter; prevaricate.
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beauty bush

  • noun Chinese deciduous shrub with yellow-throated pinkish flowers and bristly fruit; often cultivated as an ornamental
    Kolkwitzia amabilis.
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benjamin bush

  • noun deciduous shrub of the eastern United States having highly aromatic leaves and bark and yellow flowers followed by scarlet or yellow berries
    spicebush; Lindera benzoin; Benjamin bush; Benzoin odoriferum; American spicebush.
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bird's-eye bush

  • noun shrub with narrow-elliptic glossy evergreen leaves and yellow flowers with leathery petaloid sepals
    Ochna serrulata.
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black-fronted bush shrike

  • noun a kind of bush shrike
    Chlorophoneus nigrifrons.
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blackberry bush

  • noun bramble with sweet edible black or dark purple berries that usually do not separate from the receptacle
    blackberry.
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blueberry bush

  • noun any of numerous shrubs of the genus Vaccinium bearing blueberries
    blueberry.
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boysenberry bush

  • noun cultivated hybrid bramble of California having large dark wine-red fruit with a flavor resembling raspberries
    boysenberry.
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bramble bush

  • noun any prickly shrub of the genus Rubus bearing edible aggregate fruits
WordNet
Bram"ble bush`
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) The bramble, or a collection of brambles growing together.
    He jumped into a bramble bush And scratched out both his eyes. Mother Goose.
Webster 1913

brittle bush

  • noun fragrant rounded shrub of southwestern United States and adjacent Mexico having brittle stems and small crowded blue-green leaves and yellow flowers; produces a resin used in incense and varnish and in folk medicine
    brittlebush; Encelia farinosa; incienso.
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Burning bush

  • noun (Old Testament) the bush that burned without being consumed and from which God spoke to Moses
  • noun deciduous shrub having purple capsules enclosing scarlet seeds
    Euonymus atropurpureus; wahoo.
  • noun Eurasian perennial herb with white flowers that emit flammable vapor in hot weather
    gas plant; Dictamnus alba; dittany; fraxinella.
  • noun densely branched Eurasian plant; foliage turns purple-red in autumn
    fire bush; burning bush; Bassia scoparia; Kochia scoparia; belvedere; summer cypress.
WordNet
  • (Bot.), an ornamental shrub (Euonymus atropurpureus), bearing a crimson berry.
Webster 1913

bush administration

  • noun the executive under President George H. W. Bush
  • noun the executive under President George W. Bush
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bush baby

  • noun agile long-tailed nocturnal African lemur with dense woolly fur and large eyes and ears
    bushbaby; galago.
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Bush bean

  • noun a bean plant whose bushy growth needs no supports
WordNet
  • (Bot.), a variety of bean which is low and requires no support (Phaseolus vulgaris, variety nanus). See Bean, 1.
Webster 1913

Bush buck, ∨ Bush goat

  • (Zoöl.), a beautiful South African antelope (Tragelaphus sylvaticus); so called because found mainly in wooden localities. The name is also applied to other species.
Webster 1913

Bush cat

  • (Zoöl.), the serval. See Serval.
Webster 1913

Bush chat

  • (Zoöl.), a bird of the genus Pratincola, of the Thrush family.
Webster 1913

bush clover

  • noun shrubby or herbaceous plants widely used for forage, soil improvement, and especially hay in southern United States
    lespedeza.
WordNet

Bush dog

  • . (Zoöl.) See Potto.
Webster 1913

Bush hammer

  • . See Bushhammer in the Vocabulary.
Webster 1913

Bush harrow

  • (Agric.) See under Harrow.
Webster 1913

bush hibiscus

  • noun southern and western Australian shrub with unlobed or shallowly lobed toothed leaves and purple flowers; sometimes placed in genus Hibiscus
    Radyera farragei; Hibiscus farragei.
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Bush hog

  • (Zoöl.), a South African wild hog (Potamochoerus Africanus); called also bush pig, and water hog.
Webster 1913

bush honeysuckle

  • noun a honeysuckle shrub of southern Russia to central Asia
    Tartarian honeysuckle; Lonicera tatarica.
  • noun bush honeysuckle of southeastern United States having large crowded clusters of sulfur-yellow flowers
    Diervilla sessilifolia.
  • noun spreading bush of northeastern United States having small clusters of fragrant green and yellow flowers
    Diervilla lonicera.
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bush jacket

  • noun a loose fitting jacket; resembles a shirt with four patch pockets and a belt
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bush lawyer

  • noun stout-stemmed trailing shrub of New Zealand that scrambles over other growth
    Rubus cissoides; lawyerbush; bush lawyer; Rubus australis.
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bush league

  • noun a league of teams that do not belong to a major league (especially baseball)
    minors; minor league.
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bush leaguer

  • noun a player on a minor-league baseball team
    minor leaguer.
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Bush master

  • (Zoöl.), a venomous snake (Lachesis mutus) of Guinea; called also surucucu.
Webster 1913

bush nasturtium

  • noun annual with deep yellow flowers smaller than the common garden nasturtium
    Tropaeolum minus.
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bush out

  • verb grow outward
    • the plant quickly bushed out
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Bush pea

  • noun any of various plants of the genus Thermopsis having trifoliate leaves and yellow or purple racemose flowers
WordNet
  • (Bot.), a variety of pea that needs to be bushed.
Webster 1913

bush poppy

  • noun evergreen shrub of southwestern United States and Mexico often cultivated for its fragrant golden yellow flowers
    tree poppy.
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Bush shrike

  • noun an African shrike
WordNet
  • (Zoöl.), a bird of the genus Thamnophilus, and allied genera; called also batarg. Many species inhabit tropical America.
Webster 1913

Bush tit

  • noun active grey titmice of western North America
    bushtit.
WordNet
  • (Zoöl.), a small bird of the genus Psaltriparus, allied to the titmouse. P. minimus inhabits California.
Webster 1913

bush vetch

  • noun European purple-flowered with slender stems; occurs as a weed in hedges
    Vicia sepium.
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bush violet

  • noun any of several herbs of the genus Browallia cultivated for their blue or violet or white flowers
    browallia.
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bush willow

  • noun small South African tree having creamy yellow fragrant flowers usually growing on stream banks
    Combretum erythrophyllum.
  • noun small deciduous tree of the Transvaal having spikes of yellow flowers
    Combretum appiculatum.
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bush-league

  • adjective satellite not of the highest quality or sophistication
    bush.
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butterfly bush

  • noun tropical shrub having clusters of white or violet or yellow flowers
    buddleia.
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calico bush

  • noun a North American evergreen shrub having glossy leaves and white or rose-colored flowers
    American laurel; Kalmia latifolia; mountain laurel; wood laurel.
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caper bush

Ca"per bush`, Ca"per tree` (Also<
  • Caper bush
  • Caper tree
)
Definitions
  1. See Capper, a plant, 2.
Webster 1913

christmas bush

  • noun Australian tree or shrub with red flowers; often used in Christmas decoration
    Christmas tree; Ceratopetalum gummiferum.
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coral bush

  • noun Australian shrub having simple obovate leaves and brilliant scarlet flowers
    coral bush; Templetonia retusa.
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coyote bush

  • noun widely spreading evergreen shrub of southwestern United States with flower heads in a leafy panicle
    kidney wort; chaparral broom; coyote brush; Baccharis pilularis.
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cranberry bush

  • noun deciduous North American shrub or small tree having three-lobed leaves and red berries
    Viburnum trilobum; highbush cranberry; American cranberry bush; cranberry tree.
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creosote bush

  • noun desert shrub of southwestern United States and New Mexico having persistent resinous aromatic foliage and small yellow flowers
    hediondilla; Larrea tridentata; coville.
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currant bush

  • noun any of various deciduous shrubs of the genus Ribes bearing currants
    currant.
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daisy bush

  • noun any of various mostly Australian attractively shaped shrubs of the genus Olearia grown for their handsome and sometimes fragrant evergreen foliage and profusion of daisy flowers with white or purple or blue rays
    daisybush; daisy bush.
WordNet

daisy-bush

  • noun any of various mostly Australian attractively shaped shrubs of the genus Olearia grown for their handsome and sometimes fragrant evergreen foliage and profusion of daisy flowers with white or purple or blue rays
    daisybush; daisy bush.
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dewberry bush

  • noun any of several trailing blackberry brambles especially of North America
    dewberry; running blackberry.
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eggplant bush

  • noun hairy upright herb native to southeastern Asia but widely cultivated for its large glossy edible fruit commonly used as a vegetable
    aubergine; eggplant; Solanum melongena; brinjal; mad apple; garden egg.
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elderberry bush

  • noun any of numerous shrubs or small trees of temperate and subtropical northern hemisphere having white flowers and berrylike fruit
    elder.
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european cranberry bush

  • noun deciduous thicket-forming Old World shrub with clusters of white flowers and small bright red berries
    cranberry tree; Viburnum opulus; guelder rose; European cranberrybush; crampbark.
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feijoa bush

  • noun South American shrub having edible greenish plumlike fruit
    feijoa.
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fetter bush

  • noun showy evergreen shrub of southeastern United States with shiny leaves and angled branches and clusters of pink to reddish flowers that resemble an umbel
    shiny lyonia; fetterbush; Lyonia lucida.
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Fever bush

  • (Bot.), the wild allspice or spice bush. See Spicewood.
Webster 1913

fire bush

  • noun evergreen South American shrub having showy trumpet-shaped orange flowers; grown as an ornamental or houseplant
    fire-bush; Streptosolen jamesonii; fire bush.
  • noun densely branched Eurasian plant; foliage turns purple-red in autumn
    fire bush; burning bush; Bassia scoparia; Kochia scoparia; belvedere; summer cypress.
WordNet

fire-bush

  • noun evergreen South American shrub having showy trumpet-shaped orange flowers; grown as an ornamental or houseplant
    fire-bush; Streptosolen jamesonii; fire bush.
  • noun densely branched Eurasian plant; foliage turns purple-red in autumn
    fire bush; burning bush; Bassia scoparia; Kochia scoparia; belvedere; summer cypress.
WordNet

flame bush

  • noun Australian shrub having simple obovate leaves and brilliant scarlet flowers
    coral bush; Templetonia retusa.
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flannel bush

  • noun any of several handsome evergreen shrubs of California and northern Mexico having downy lobed leaves and showy yellow flowers
    California beauty; flannelbush.
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fringe bush

  • noun small bushy tree of southeastern United States having profuse clusters of white flowers
    Chionanthus virginicus.
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george bush

  • noun 43rd President of the United States; son of George Herbert Walker Bush (born in 1946)
    Dubya; Dubyuh; Bush; President Bush; George Walker Bush; George W. Bush; George Bush.
  • noun vice president under Reagan and 41st President of the United States (born in 1924)
    Bush; George H.W. Bush; George Herbert Walker Bush; George Bush.
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george h.w. bush

  • noun vice president under Reagan and 41st President of the United States (born in 1924)
    Bush; George H.W. Bush; George Herbert Walker Bush; George Bush.
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george herbert walker bush

  • noun vice president under Reagan and 41st President of the United States (born in 1924)
    Bush; George H.W. Bush; George Herbert Walker Bush; George Bush.
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george w. bush

  • noun 43rd President of the United States; son of George Herbert Walker Bush (born in 1946)
    Dubya; Dubyuh; Bush; President Bush; George Walker Bush; George W. Bush; George Bush.
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george walker bush

  • noun 43rd President of the United States; son of George Herbert Walker Bush (born in 1946)
    Dubya; Dubyuh; Bush; President Bush; George Walker Bush; George W. Bush; George Bush.
WordNet

gooseberry bush

  • noun spiny Eurasian shrub having greenish purple-tinged flowers and ovoid yellow-green or red-purple berries
    Ribes grossularia; gooseberry; Ribes uva-crispa.
WordNet

Grease bush

  • . (Bot.) Same as Grease wood (below).
Webster 1913

groundsel bush

  • noun a shrub of salt marshes of eastern and south central North America and West Indies; fruit is surrounded with white plumelike hairy tufts
    cotton-seed tree; consumption weed; groundsel tree; Baccharis halimifolia.
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guava bush

  • noun small tropical American shrubby tree; widely cultivated in warm regions for its sweet globular yellow fruit
    Psidium guajava; true guava; guava.
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high-bush blueberry

  • noun high-growing deciduous shrub of eastern North America bearing edible blueish to blackish berries with a distinct bloom; source of most cultivated blueberries
    tall bilberry; Vaccinium corymbosum; swamp blueberry.
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hoary golden bush

  • noun western American shrubs having white felted foliage and yellow flowers that become red-purple
    Hazardia cana.
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hog plum bush

  • noun small native American shrubby tree bearing small edible yellow to reddish fruit
    Prunus angustifolia; hog plum; chickasaw plum.
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Ivy bush

  • . (Bot.) See Mountain laurel, under Mountain.
Webster 1913

Jack-in-the-bush

  • (Bot.), a tropical shrub with red fruit (Cordia Cylindrostachya).
Webster 1913

jew bush

  • noun low tropical American shrub having powerful emetic properties
    redbird cactus; redbird flower; Pedilanthus tithymaloides; Jew bush; Jewbush.
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jew-bush

  • noun low tropical American shrub having powerful emetic properties
    redbird cactus; redbird flower; Pedilanthus tithymaloides; Jew bush; Jewbush.
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jujube bush

  • noun spiny tree having dark red edible fruits
    Christ's-thorn; jujube; Ziziphus jujuba; Jerusalem thorn.
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juniper bush

  • noun desert shrub of Syria and Arabia having small white flowers; constitutes the juniper of the Old Testament; sometimes placed in genus Genista
    juniper; Retama raetam; retem; Genista raetam; raetam.
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kei apple bush

  • noun vigorous South African spiny shrub grown for its round yellow juicy edible fruits
    kei apple; Dovyalis caffra.
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lawyer bush

  • noun stout-stemmed trailing shrub of New Zealand that scrambles over other growth
    Rubus cissoides; lawyerbush; bush lawyer; Rubus australis.
WordNet

low-bush blueberry

  • noun low-growing deciduous shrub of northeastern North America having flowers in compact racemes and bearing sweet dark blue berries
    Vaccinium pennsylvanicum; low blueberry; Vaccinium angustifolium.
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marmalade bush

  • noun evergreen South American shrub having showy trumpet-shaped orange flowers; grown as an ornamental or houseplant
    fire-bush; Streptosolen jamesonii; fire bush.
WordNet

mimosa bush

  • noun tropical American thorny shrub or small tree; fragrant yellow flowers used in making perfumery
    flame tree; Acacia farnesiana; scented wattle; huisache; sweet acacia; sweet wattle; cassie.
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minnie bush

  • noun low shrub of the eastern United States with downy twigs
    minniebush; Menziesia pilosa.
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needle bush

  • noun shrub with pungent rigid needle-shaped leaves and white flowers; eastern Australia
    needlebush; Hakea lissosperma; needle bush.
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needle-bush

  • noun shrub with pungent rigid needle-shaped leaves and white flowers; eastern Australia
    needlebush; Hakea lissosperma; needle bush.
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Niter bush

  • (Bot.), a genus (Nitraria) of thorny shrubs bearing edible berries, and growing in the saline plains of Asia and Northern Africa.
Webster 1913

oriental bush cherry

  • noun woody oriental plant with smooth unfurrowed red fruit grown especially for its white or pale pink blossoms
    Prunus japonica; flowering almond.
WordNet

pepper bush

  • noun shrub of eastern and southern coastal United States having beautiful racemes of spice-scented white flowers
    sweet pepperbush; Clethra alnifolia; summer sweet; white alder.
WordNet

Pepperidge bush

  • (Bot.), the barberry.
Webster 1913

poison bush

  • noun any of various Australian evergreen shrubs of the genus Gastrolobium having whorled compound leaves poisonous to livestock and showy yellow to deep reddish-orange flowers followed by two-seeded pods
    poison pea; gastrolobium.
  • noun either of two Australian plants of the genus Swainsona that are poisonous to sheep
    darling pea.
WordNet

president bush

  • noun 43rd President of the United States; son of George Herbert Walker Bush (born in 1946)
    Dubya; Dubyuh; Bush; President Bush; George Walker Bush; George W. Bush; George Bush.
  • noun vice president under Reagan and 41st President of the United States (born in 1924)
    Bush; George H.W. Bush; George Herbert Walker Bush; George Bush.
WordNet

president george w. bush

  • noun 43rd President of the United States; son of George Herbert Walker Bush (born in 1946)
    Dubya; Dubyuh; Bush; President Bush; George Walker Bush; George W. Bush; George Bush.
WordNet

quail bush

  • noun spiny shrub with silvery-scurfy foliage of alkaline plains of southwestern United States and Mexico
    Atriplex lentiformis; white thistle; quail brush.
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quince bush

  • noun small Asian tree with pinkish flowers and pear-shaped fruit; widely cultivated
    quince; Cydonia oblonga.
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rabbit bush

  • noun pleasantly aromatic shrub having erect slender flexible hairy branches and dense clusters of small yellow flowers covering vast areas of western alkali plains and affording a retreat for jackrabbits; source of a yellow dye used by the Navajo
    Chrysothamnus nauseosus; rabbit brush.
WordNet

raspberry bush

  • noun woody brambles bearing usually red but sometimes black or yellow fruits that separate from the receptacle when ripe and are rounder and smaller than blackberries
    raspberry.
WordNet

Resin bush

  • (Bot.), a low composite shrub (Euryops speciosissimus) of South Africa, having smooth pinnately parted leaves and abounding in resin.
Webster 1913

ringworm bush

  • noun tropical shrub (especially of Americas) having yellow flowers and large leaves whose juice is used as a cure for ringworm and poisonous bites; sometimes placed in genus Cassia
    ringworm shrub; Cassia alata; Senna alata; ringworm cassia.
WordNet

Saloop bush

  • (Bot.), an Australian shrub (Rhagodia hastata) of the Goosefoot family, used for fodder.
Webster 1913

scarlet bush

  • noun handsome shrub with showy orange to scarlet or crimson flowers; Florida and West Indies to Mexico and Brazil
    Hamelia erecta; coloradillo; Hamelia patens; scarlet hamelia.
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Shad bush

  • (Bot.), a name given to the North American shrubs or small trees of the rosaceous genus Amelanchier (A. Canadensis, and A. alnifolia) Their white racemose blossoms open in April or May, when the shad appear, and the edible berries (pomes) ripen in June or July, whence they are called Juneberries. The plant is also called service tree, and Juneberry.
Webster 1913

Silver bush

  • (Bot.), a shrubby leguminous plant (Anthyllis Barba-Jovis) of Southern Europe, having silvery foliage.
Webster 1913

silver-bush

  • noun silvery hairy European shrub with evergreen foliage and pale yellow flowers
    Jupiter's beard; Anthyllis barba-jovis; silverbush.
  • noun deciduous unarmed North American shrub with silvery leaves and fruits
    Elaeagnus commutata; silverberry; silver berry; silverbush.
WordNet

smoke bush

  • noun any of several shrubs or shrubby trees of the genus Cotinus
    smoke tree.
  • noun any of various shrubs of the genus Conospermum with panicles of mostly white woolly flowers
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spice bush

  • noun deciduous shrub of the eastern United States having highly aromatic leaves and bark and yellow flowers followed by scarlet or yellow berries
    spicebush; Lindera benzoin; Benjamin bush; Benzoin odoriferum; American spicebush.
WordNet

squaw-bush

  • noun deciduous shrub of California with unpleasantly scented usually trifoliate leaves and edible fruit
    Rhus trilobata; skunkbush; squawbush.
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stagger bush

  • noun deciduous shrub of coastal plain of the eastern United States having nodding pinkish-white flowers; poisonous to stock
    staggerbush; Lyonia mariana.
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Steeple bush

  • (Bot.), a low shrub (Spiræa tomentosa) having dense panicles of minute rose-colored flowers; hardhack.
Webster 1913

stingaree-bush

  • noun spiny evergreen xerophytic shrub having showy rose and purple flowers and forming dense thickets; of dry rocky mountain slopes of California
    Pickeringia montana; chaparral pea.
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Strawberry bush

  • noun upright deciduous plant with crimson pods and seeds; the eastern United States from New York to Florida and Texas
    Euonymus americanus; wahoo.
  • noun hardy shrub of southeastern United States having clove-scented wood and fragrant red-brown flowers
    sweet shrub; Calycanthus floridus; strawberry shrub; Carolina allspice.
WordNet
  • (Bot.), an American shrub (Euonymus Americanus), a kind of spindle tree having crimson pods and the seeds covered with a scarlet aril.
Webster 1913

Sugar bush

  • . See Sugar orchard.
Webster 1913

sugar-bush

  • noun evergreen shrub of southeastern United States with spikes of reddish yellow flowers and glandular hairy fruits
    Rhus ovata; sugar sumac.
WordNet

Sweet pepper bush

  • (Bot.), an American shrub (Clethra alnifolia), with racemes of fragrant white flowers; called also white alder.
Webster 1913

To beat about the bush

  • to approach a subject circuitously.
  • to approach anything in a round-about manner, instead of coming directly to it; a metaphor taken from hunting.
Webster 1913

vannevar bush

  • noun United States electrical engineer who designed an early analogue computer and who led the scientific program of the United States during World War II (1890-1974)
    Bush.
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