telegraph plant
noun
a tick trefoil, Desmodium motorium, of the legume family, native to tropical Asia, noted for the spontaneous, jerking, signallike motions of its leaflets.
Origin of telegraph plant
First recorded in 1880–85
Words nearby telegraph plant
telegonus,
telegony,
telegram,
telegraph,
telegraph buoy,
telegraph plant,
telegraphese,
telegraphic,
telegraphone,
telegraphy,
telegu
Example sentences from the Web for telegraph plant
Portion of stem and leaves of Telegraph-plant (Desmodium gyrans), almost of natural size.
The Elements of Botany |Asa Gray
British Dictionary definitions for telegraph plant
telegraph plant
noun
a small tropical Asian leguminous shrub, Desmodium gyrans, having small leaflets that turn in various directions during the day and droop at night