Adjacent Words

Saxifrage definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SAX'IFRAGE, n. [L. saqxifraga; composed of saxum, a stone, and frango, to break.]
A medicine that has the property of breaking or dissolving the stone in the bladder. But in botany, a genus of plants of many species. The burnet saxifrage is of the genus Pimpinella; the golden saxifrage is of the genus Chrysoplenium; the meadow saxifrage is of the genus Peucedanum.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: any of various plants of the genus Saxifraga [syn: saxifrage, breakstone, rockfoil]

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin saxifraga, from Latin, feminine of saxifragus breaking rocks, from saxum rock + frangere to break — more at break Date: 14th century any of a genus (Saxifraga of the family Saxifragaceae, the saxifrage family) of chiefly perennial herbs with showy pentamerous flowers and often with basal tufted leaves

Britannica Concise

Any of about 300 species of the genus Saxifraga, of the family Saxifragaceae, which is composed of 36 genera of mostly perennial herbaceous plants. Members of the saxifrage family are known for their ability to grow and thrive on exposed rocky crags and in fissures of rocks. They are adapted to the full range of moisture conditions, but most grow in moist, shaded woodlands in N cold and temperate regions. Leaves characteristically alternate along the stem and sometimes are deeply lobed or form rosettes. Flowers generally are borne in branched clusters and range in color from greenish to white or yellow and from pink or red to purple. The fruit is a capsule. Saxifraga species are planted in rock gardens or as border ornamentals, prized for their small, bright flowers, fine-textured foliage, and early spring flowering. Other well-known genera in the saxifrage family are Astilbe, Heuchera, and Mitella.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. any plant of the genus Saxifraga, growing on rocky or stony ground and usu. bearing small white, yellow, or red flowers. Etymology: ME f. OF saxifrage or LL saxifraga (herba) f. L saxum rock + frangere break

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Saxifrage Sax"i*frage (?; 48), n. [L. saxifraga, from saxifragus stone-breaking; saxum rock + frangere to break: cf. F. saxifrage. See Fracture, and cf. Sassafras, Saxon.] (Bot.) Any plant of the genus Saxifraga, mostly perennial herbs growing in crevices of rocks in mountainous regions. Burnet saxifrage, a European umbelliferous plant (Pimpinella Saxifraga). Golden saxifrage, a low half-succulent herb (Chrysosplenium oppositifolium) growing in rivulets in Europe; also, C. Americanum, common in the United States. See also under Golden. Meadow saxifrage, or Pepper saxifrage. See under Meadow.