bog myrtle

bog myrtle
    n 1: perennial plant of Europe and America having racemes of
         white or purplish flowers and intensely bitter trifoliate
         leaves; often rooting at water margin and spreading across
         the surface [syn: {water shamrock}, {buckbean}, {bogbean},
         {bog myrtle}, {marsh trefoil}, {Menyanthes trifoliata}]
    

Myrtle \Myr"tle\ (m[~e]r"t'l), n. [F. myrtil bilberry, prop., a
   little myrtle, from myrte myrtle, L. myrtus, murtus, Gr.
   my`rtos; cf. Per. m[=u]rd.] (Bot.)
   A species of the genus {Myrtus}, especially {Myrtus
   communis}. The common myrtle has a shrubby, upright stem,
   eight or ten feet high. Its branches form a close, full head,
   thickly covered with ovate or lanceolate evergreen leaves. It
   has solitary axillary white or rosy flowers, followed by
   black several-seeded berries. The ancients considered it
   sacred to Venus. The flowers, leaves, and berries are used
   variously in perfumery and as a condiment, and the
   beautifully mottled wood is used in turning.
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   Note: The name is also popularly but wrongly applied in
         America to two creeping plants, the blue-flowered
         periwinkle and the yellow-flowered moneywort. In the
         West Indies several myrtaceous shrubs are called
         myrtle.
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   {Bog myrtle}, the sweet gale.

   {Crape myrtle}. See under {Crape}.

   {Myrtle warbler} (Zool.), a North American wood warbler
      ({Dendroica coronata}); -- called also {myrtle bird},
      {yellow-rumped warbler}, and {yellow-crowned warbler}.

   {Myrtle wax}. (Bot.) See {Bayberry tallow}, under {Bayberry}.
      

   {Sand myrtle}, a low, branching evergreen shrub ({Leiophyllum
      buxifolium}), growing in New Jersey and southward.

   {Wax myrtle} ({Myrica cerifera}). See {Bayberry}.
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bogbean \bogbean\ n.
   a perennial plant of Europe and America ({Menyanthes
   trifoliata}) having racemes of white or purplish flowers and
   intensely bitter trifoliate leaves; often rooting at the
   water margin and spreading across the surface; -- called also
   {bog myrtle}, {water shamrock} and {marsh trefoil}.

   Syn: water shamrock, buckbean, bog myrtle, marsh trefoil.
        [WordNet 1.5]
    

bog \bog\ (b[o^]g), n. [Ir. & Gael. bog soft, tender, moist: cf.
   Ir. bogach bog, moor, marsh, Gael. bogan quagmire.]
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   1. A quagmire filled with decayed moss and other vegetable
      matter; wet spongy ground where a heavy body is apt to
      sink; a marsh; a morass.
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            Appalled with thoughts of bog, or caverned pit,
            Of treacherous earth, subsiding where they tread.
                                                  --R. Jago.
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   2. A little elevated spot or clump of earth, roots, and
      grass, in a marsh or swamp. [Local, U. S.]
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   {Bog bean}. See {Buck bean}.

   {Bog bumper} (bump, to make a loud noise), {Bog blitter},
   {Bog bluiter}, {Bog jumper}, the bittern. [Prov.]

   {Bog butter}, a hydrocarbon of butterlike consistence found
      in the peat bogs of Ireland.

   {Bog earth} (Min.), a soil composed for the most part of
      silex and partially decomposed vegetable fiber. --P. Cyc.

   {Bog moss}. (Bot.) Same as {Sphagnum}.

   {Bog myrtle} (Bot.), the sweet gale.

   {Bog ore}. (Min.)
      (a) An ore of iron found in boggy or swampy land; a
          variety of brown iron ore, or limonite.
      (b) Bog manganese, the hydrated peroxide of manganese.

   {Bog rush} (Bot.), any rush growing in bogs; saw grass.

   {Bog spavin}. See under {Spavin}.
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