Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun plural A brownish eastern North American plant (Epifagus virginiana) having scalelike leaves and whitish tubular flowers with brown-purple stripes. It is parasitic on the roots of the American beech tree, Fagus grandifolia.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Epifagus virginiana or Epifagus americana, a parasitic plant which grows on the roots of beech trees.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

beech +‎ drops

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Examples

  • Leafless herbs like beechdrops, lavender toothwort, and various bright-flowered small orchids, often without green leaves, were everywhere, growing from the roots of other living plants or their decaying remains.

    The Plains of Passage Auel, Jean M. 1990

  • "Then I think these would be called 'beechdrops,'" she said, getting up and brushing her hands together to dust them off.

    The Plains of Passage Auel, Jean M. 1990

  • She implies that "unlimited growth would eventually lead to the end of beech trees and beechdrops."

    Mon@rch's Nature Blog 2008

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