noun
small genus of North American herbs having grasslike basal leaves: squaw grass; sometimes placed in family Melanthiaceae
• Syn: ↑genus Xerophyllum
• Hypernyms: ↑liliid monocot genus
• Member Holonyms: ↑Liliaceae, ↑family Liliaceae, ↑lily family
• Member Meronyms: ↑squaw grass, ↑bear grass, ↑Xerophyllum tenax
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\\ˌzirəˈfiləm\ nounUsage: capitalized
: a small genus of tall No. American herbs (family Liliaceae) having thick woody rootstocks, simple stems with rough-edged linear leaves, and small white flowers in a dense terminal raceme — see sour grass, squaw grass
Useful english dictionary. 2012.