helxine Bot.
(hɛlkˈsaɪnɪ, hɛlˈzaɪnɪ)
[mod.L. (E. Requien 1825, in Annales des Sciences Naturelles V. 384), f. Gr. ἑλξίνη pellitory, a related plant.]
Soleirolia soleirolii, a creeping, perennial herb of the family Urticaceæ, native to Corsica and Sardinia, formerly called by the generic name Helxine.
| 1873 Mrs. Hooker tr. Le Maout & Decaisne's Gen. Syst. Bot. ii. 667 Flowers [of Urticaceæ]..very rarely solitary and axillary (Helxine). 1924 L. H. Bailey Man. Cultivated Plants 241 Helxine..making a matted moss-like covering. 1964 M. Fish Ground Cover Plants v. 44 If one happened to have a dark, dank courtyard which needed the softening influence of tender green, nothing could be more charming than helxine. 1969 O. Polunin Flowers of Europe 58 Soleirolia soleirolii..(Helxine)..Native of Mediterranean islands; naturalized in Western Europe. |