moonflower

English

Etymology

From moon +‎ flower.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmuːnflaʊə/

Noun

moonflower (plural moonflowers)

1. Any of several plants that flower at night:
   1. (obsolete) The ox-eye daisy, Leucanthemum vulgare [18th–19th c.]
   2. The corn marigold, Glebionis segetum.
   3. Any of several vines of the genus Ipomoea, especially Ipomoea alba. [from 19th c.]
      • 1977, Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace, New York: Review Books, published 2006, page 46:

        Hôtel Saint-George […] through whose exotic gardens of giant contorted euphorbia and sweet-smelling moonflowers Churchill and the titans of the Second World War strolled, laying plans for a world in which Anglo-Saxon predominance seemed assured in perpetuity.

   4. Species in genus Cereus and in (Stenocereus (syn. Hylocereus) spp.).
   5. Species of Datura, including Datura inoxia.
   6. Species of Mentzelia, including Mentzelia pumila.

Derived terms

• beach moonflower (Ipomoea violacea)
• sea moonflower (Ipomoea violacea)

Translations

Ipomoea alba

• Dutch: maanbloem (nl) f
• Esperanto: blanka ipomeo
• French: fleur de lune f
• Japanese: 夜顔 (yorugao)

See also

• morning glory
• sunflower

Anagrams

• floorwomen, flower moon