wallflower
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ərBased on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
wallflower (ˈwɔːlˌflaʊə) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | Also called: gillyflower a plant, Cheiranthus cheiri, of S Europe, grown for its clusters of yellow, orange, brown, red, or purple fragrant flowers and naturalized on old walls, cliffs, etc: family Brassicaceae (crucifers) |
| 2. | any of numerous other crucifers of the genera Cheiranthus and Erysimum, having orange or yellow flowers |
| 3. | informal a person who stays on the fringes of a dance or party on account of lacking a partner or being shy |
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wallflower
any of several plants belonging to the genera Cheiranthus and Erysimum of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), so named for their habit of growing from chinks in walls. Some golden- or brown-flowering species are widely cultivated. The European wallflower (C. cheiri), native to cliffsides and meadows of southern Europe, is naturalized in Great Britain. It is biennial to perennial, with erect, 70-cm (28-inch) stalks bearing spikelike, fragrant clusters of golden to brown, four-petaled flowers. The western wallflower (E. asperum), a 90-cm (35-inch) perennial found on prairies, sand hills, and open woods in central to western North America, produces fragrant, yellow to orange flowers borne on spikes that, like those of C. cheiri, eventually become quite long.
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