Dictionary

steeplebush en · NOUN

Etymology

From steeple + bush.

Meanings

1. (uncountable, usually) A plant with narrow pyramidal clusters of flowers and a dense woolly tomentum.
   • They passed many species they had already collected for the Millennium project — maple-leaved vibernum, steeplebush with spiky stalks of tiny pink flowers, black birch — as well as a particularly impressive specimen of that quintessential Staten Island forest dweller, Automobilius burnedouticus. 2007 August 8, Andy Newman, “In Case of Apocalypse Later, a Plan to Ensure America’s Regreening”, in New York Times:
2. (uncountable, usually) A plant with narrow pyramidal clusters of flowers and a dense woolly tomentum. ▸ Spiraea tomentosa, of eastern North American
3. (uncountable, usually) A plant with narrow pyramidal clusters of flowers and a dense woolly tomentum. ▸ Spiraea douglasii, of western North America

Forms

Synonyms

Menzies' spirea · hardhack · rose spirea · hardhack steeplebush · hardhack · hardhack · Douglas spirea