noun
an American mint that yields a resinous exudate used especially formerly as an antispasmodic
• Syn: ↑blue pimpernel, ↑blue skullcap, ↑mad-dog weed, ↑Scutellaria lateriflora
• Hypernyms: ↑herb, ↑herbaceous plant
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noun or mad-dog weed : an American mint (Scutellaria lateriflora) that yields a resinoid used especially formerly as a tonic and antispasmodic — called also blue pimpernel, blue skullcap; see scutellarin
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/mad"dawg', -dog'/, Bot.
a North American skullcap, Scutellaria lateriflora, having underground stems and one-sided clusters of blue to white flowers.
[1815-25, Amer.; so called because it was formerly used as an antispasmodic]
Useful english dictionary. 2012.