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Glite Dictionary
🌺 A garden plant 🗺️ A place name
jalapa

jalapa

9.9
A garden plant with bright tube-shaped flowers whose dried root was used as a strong laxative
  • noun
  • /həˈlæpə/
  • Archaic
translation icon : jalapa
  • The jalapa plant blooms beautifully in the summer.

Examples

  • Many gardeners love to grow jalapas for their vibrant colors.

  • In the nineteenth century, jalapa was commonly used to treat constipation.

  • The herbalist explained the historical use of jalapa as a natural remedy.

  • Doctors rarely prescribe jalapa today due to the availability of safer alternatives.

  • In the past, jalapa was valued for its root, which had strong laxative effects.

  • The colorful flowers of the jalapa plant attract many pollinators in gardens.

  • Many herbalists recommend jalapa root as a traditional remedy for digestive issues.

Synonyms

Mirabilis jalapa
vsjalapa
  • Specialized
9.0

A garden plant with fragrant, colorful flowers that open in the late afternoon, often called four o'clock

also includes its dried root once used as a strong laxative
jalap
vsjalapa
  • Archaic
9.9

A climbing plant whose root is used as medicine to make you go to the toilet

is an ornamental garden plant with colorful tubular flowers, not mainly medicinal

Compounds

Mirabilis jalapa
  • Specialized
9.0

A garden plant with fragrant, colorful flowers that open in the late afternoon, often called four o'clock

Surface Forms

jalapa singular
jalapas plural

Etymology

Jalapa comes from the name of the Mexican city Xalapa, a word from the Nahuatl language meaning 'sand place'. The dried root of the garden plant from that area was shipped to Europe long ago as a strong laxative, so the flower and its medicinal root became known by the city's name jalapa.