turtlehead
turtlehead Lexical Profile
turtlehead Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Any of several North American perennial herbaceous plants of the genus Chelone (family Plantaginaceae), thriving in moist woodlands and wetlands and cultivated for their dense terminal spikes of two-lipped, hooded white, pink, or purple flowers that resemble the head of a turtle.
"Pink turtleheads bloomed along the shaded edges of the backyard rain garden in late summer."
Any of the aquatic, non-venomous sea snakes of the genus Emydocephalus (family Elapidae), native to the coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific region and characterized by a short, blunt snout and specialized fused lip scales used to scrape fish eggs from coral.
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed as an English compound of 'turtle' and 'head', in reference to the distinctive two-lipped, inflated blossoms of the plant that closely resemble the head of a turtle with an open mouth.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.