Sweet scabious

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

sweet scabious
    n 1: Old World annual having fragrant purple to deep crimson
         flower heads; naturalized in United States [syn: {sweet
         scabious}, {pincushion flower}, {mournful widow}, {Scabiosa
         atropurpurea}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Scabious \Sca"bi*ous\, n. [Cf. F. scabieuse. See {Scabious}, a.]
   (Bot.)
   Any plant of the genus {Scabiosa}, several of the species of
   which are common in Europe. They resemble the {Compositae},
   and have similar heads of flowers, but the anthers are not
   connected.
   [1913 Webster]

   {Sweet scabious}.
   (a) Mourning bride.
   (b) A daisylike plant ({Erigeron annuus}) having a stout
       branching stem.
       [1913 Webster]