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1. Any of certain perennial herbs of the genus Aletris, especially A. farinosa of eastern North America, having racemes of small white flowers and rootstocks formerly used to treat colic. Also called star grass.
2. Any of various other plants thought to relieve colic.
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.
1. (Plants) either of two North American liliaceous plants, Aletris farinosa or A. aurea, having tubular white or yellow flowers and a bitter root formerly used to relieve colic
2. (Plants) any of various other plants formerly used to relieve colic
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
col•ic•root(ˈkɒl ɪkˌrut, -ˌrʊt)
1. a North American plant, Aletris farinosa, of the lily family, with yellow or white flower spikes and a root used in folk medicine to relieve colic.
2. any of certain other plants having roots reputed to cure colic.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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|Noun||1.||colicroot - any of several perennials of the genus Aletris having grasslike leaves and bitter roots reputed to cure colic|
liliaceous plant - plant growing from a bulb or corm or rhizome or tuber
Aletris, genus Aletris - small genus of bitter-rooted herbs of eastern North America and Asia; sometimes placed in family Melanthiaceae
ague grass, ague root, Aletris farinosa - colicroot having a scurfy or granuliferous perianth and white flowers; southeastern United States
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