Meaning of ECBALLIUM
 WordNet Dictionary |
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| | Definition: | | [n] exploding cucumber; squirting cucumber |
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| | Synonyms: | | genus Ecballium |
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| | See Also: | | Cucurbitaceae, dicot genus, Ecballium elaterium, exploding cucumber, family Cucurbitaceae, gourd family, magnoliopsid genus, squirting cucumber, touch-me-not | |
| Webster's 1913 Dictionary |
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| | Definition: | | \Ec*bal"li*um\, n. [NL., fr. Gr. ?. See {Ecbole}.]
(Bot.)
A genus of cucurbitaceous plants consisting of the single
species Ecballium agreste (or Elaterium), the squirting
cucumber. Its fruit, when ripe, bursts and violently ejects
its seeds, together with a mucilaginous juice, from which
elaterium, a powerful cathartic medicine, is prepared.
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