Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
owlclaws

owlclaws

9.9
A plant from western United States with drooping yellow-orange flowers that can poison sheep
  • noun
  • US
translation icon : hierba de los búhos
  • Ranchers warn that grazing sheep near owlclaws can be dangerous due to the risk of spewing sickness.

Examples

  • In spring, the fields were dotted with yellow blooms from the wild owlclaws.

  • A botanist identified the unfamiliar plant as owlclaws during her survey of western prairie flora.

  • The owlclaws are blooming beautifully this spring.

  • Farmers should watch out for owlclaws in their fields.

  • Ranchers warn that grazing sheep near owlclaws can be dangerous due to the risk of spewing sickness.

  • A botanist identified the unfamiliar plant as owlclaws during her survey of western prairie flora.

  • In spring, the fields were dotted with yellow blooms from the wild owlclaws.

Synonyms

Helenium hoopesii
vsowlclaws
  • Specialized
9.9

A plant that lives many years with drooping orange-yellow flowers that can poison sheep

is the same species but named with a common informal name
orange sneezeweed
vsowlclaws
  • US
9.9

A plant that lives for several years with drooping orange-yellow flowers that can make sheep sick

is the same species but expressed with a formal scientific label

Surface Forms

owlclaws singular
owlclaws plural

Morphology

owlclaws = owlclaw (semi-transparent) = owl + claw + s

Formed as the compound 'owl' + 'claw' then pluralized; the components are recognizable but the plant name is a metaphorical/common name not directly deducible as a plant type.

Etymology

Owlclaws joins owl and claws because the plant's drooping orange-yellow petals look 'like an owl's talons'. That's why the name fits a stout wild herb found in western fields, and why ranchers warn that grazing near owlclaws can make sheep sick.