fumitory

/fyooh"mi tawr'ee, -tohr'ee/, n., pl. fumitories.

any plant of the genus Fumaria, esp. a delicate herb, F. officinalis, having finely dissected, grayish leaves and spikes of purplish flowers.

[1350-1400; alter. of earlier fumiterre, ME fumetere < MF < ML fumus terrae lit., smoke of the earth; literal sense uncert.]

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▪ plant

 any of several plant species of the genus Fumaria of the poppy family (Papaveraceae) but, most commonly, F. officinalis, a 90-centimetre- (3-foot-) tall, climbing annual plant with lacy leaves and spikelike sprays of white or pinkish tubular flowers. F. officinalis, native to Europe and Asia, now grows wild in parts of North America, having escaped from gardens. Once regarded as a medicinal herb, it was also used in Great Britain, boiled in water or milk, as a cosmetic.

      Climbing fumitory (Adlumia fungosa), also known as Allegheny vine, or mountain fringe, is a sprawling, herbaceous biennial that coils its long leafstalks around supports. It reaches 3.5 m (11.5 feet) in height and has clusters of white or pinkish tubular flowers borne among delicately cut leaves. The only species of its genus, it is native to moist woodlands and freshly burned areas from eastern to central North America and across Asia.

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