[lawrdz-uh
n-ley-deez] 
[koo-koo-pahynt, kook-oo-] | a common European arum, Arum maculatum. |
| cuck·oo·pint (kōō'kōō-pīnt', kŏŏk'ōō-) n. A European plant (Arum maculatum) having arrow-shaped leaves, a yellow-green spathe, and scarlet berries. Also called lords-and-ladies. [From obsolete cuckoopintle, from Middle English cokkupintel : cokku, cuccu, cuckoo; see cuckoo + pintel, penis; see pintle.] |
| lords-and-la·dies (lôrdz'ən-lā'dēz) pl.n. (used with a sing. or pl. verb) See cuckoopint. [From its dark (lords) and light (ladies) spadices.] |
lords-and-ladies
(Arum maculatum), a tuberous herb of the arum family, order Arales, native to southern Europe and northern Africa. Like many other aroids, cuckoopint contains a bitter, sometimes poisonous sap; the red berries are particularly toxic. In England, where it is common in woods and hedgerows, it is also known as wake-robin.
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