dichondra

noun

di·chon·dra dī-ˈkän-drə

: any of a genus (Dichondra) of chiefly tropical perennial herbs of the morning glory family that includes some (especially D. repens or its varieties) used as a ground cover and a substitute for lawn grasses in warmer parts of the U.S.

Examples of dichondra in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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Combine it with 'Silver Falls' dichondra for a splash of color against shimmering foliage. 12 Colorful Hanging Container Calibrachoas in red, purple, and yellow fill out fast with blooms that look like miniature petunias. —

Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 14 June 2023 For existing broadleaf weeds such as clover, dandelions, dichondra, poison ivy, roadside asters and others, use a broadleaf weed killer containing 2,4-D. Apply it according to label directions for best results. —

Neil Sperry, star-telegram, 17 May 2018 There also are perennial weeds, such as dollarweed, oxalis, white clover, dichondra, dandelion and Indian strawberry. —

Dan Gill, NOLA.com, 24 Feb. 2018

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, genus name, from di- di- + -chondra, feminine adjective derivative from Greek chóndros "grain (of wheat, salt, etc.), seed" — more at chondro-

Note: Taxon introduced by the naturalists Johann Reinhold Forster (1729-98) and his son Georg Forster (1754-94) in Characteres generum plantarum quas in itinere ad insulas Maris Australis collegerunt … (London, 1776), p. 40 and tabula 20. The Forsters state that the name alludes to the two "granules" (seed capsules) that are produced by each flower ("Compositum nomen ex [Greek letters] dis geminus, binus, et [Greek letters] chondros granum, quia duo granula cuilibet flori succedunt").

First Known Use

1947, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of dichondra was in 1947

See more words from the same year