| ecballium | <botany> A genus of cucurbitaceous plants consisting of the single species Ecballium agreste (or Elaterium), the squirting cucumber. Its fruit, when ripe, bursts and violently ejects its seeds, together with a mucilaginous juice, from which elaterium, a powerful cathartic medicine, is prepared. Origin: NL, fr. Gr. See Ecbole. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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