goatsbeard [gohts-beerd] ExamplesWord Origin noun
- any of several composite plants of the genus Tragopogon, especially T. pratensis, having yellow flower heads.
- a plant, Aruncus dioicus, of the rose family, having pinnate leaves and long, slender spikes of small white flowers.
Origin of goatsbeard 1570–80; goat + -‘s1 + beard Examples from the Web for goatsbeard Historical Examples of goatsbeard
The name “Goatsbeard” refer to the clusters of stiff hairy fruits.
Edith S. Clements
The Goatsbeard or Salsify bears large purple flower-heads with yellow centers at the tips of stiff, straight stems, 2-4 ft. tall.
Edith S. Clements
The flowers of the Goatsbeard have the curious habit of closing at midday, even when the sun is shining.
C. E. Smith
Drooping hemlocks, festooned with goatsbeard lichen, keep the spot in cool, somber gloom even on the hottest midday.
Glacier National Park [Montana]
United States Dept. of the Interior
British Dictionary definitions for goatsbeard goatsbeard goat’s-beard noun
- Also called: Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon a Eurasian plant, Tragopogon pratensis, with woolly stems and large heads of yellow rayed flowers surrounded by large green bracts: family Asteraceae (composites)
- an American rosaceous plant, Aruncus sylvester, with long spikes of small white flowers