[lous-wurt, -wawrt] 
| any plant belonging to the genus Pedicularis, of the figwort family, as the wood betony, formerly supposed to cause lice in sheep feeding on it: one species, P. furbishiae (Furbish lousewort), of parts of Maine and New Brunswick, Canada, having finely toothed leaves and a cluster of yellow flowers, is endangered and was thought to be extinct until specimens were discovered in 1946 and again in 1976. |
| louse·wort (lous'wûrt', -wôrt') n. Any of numerous plants of the genus Pedicularis, having clusters of irregular, variously colored flowers. Also called wood betony. [From the belief that sheep feeding on it were prone to lice.] |
