ixia

[prettygoodword]

ixia (IK-see-uh) - n., any of several South African plants (genus Ixia) with sword-shaped leaves and star-shaped flowers.


All in the lily family. The name comes from either Greek ixos, mistletoe/birdlime (huh?), or the Greek name for a similar but unrelated flower, the pine thistle. This is an Ixia polystachya:


Thanks, WikiMedia!

---L.

Comments

[movingfinger]

Scrabble word!

The "mistletoe/birdlime" confusion is he sort of mixup that happens when someone points at a tree and asks the word for what's on the branch over there!

[prettygoodword]

How do you think I came across it? :-)