gunpowder weed, noun phrase

Origin:
AfrikaansShow more Named for its black seeds resembling gunpowder; either derived from or the source of Afrikaans kruitbossie, kruit gunpowder + bossie (small) bush.
The naturalized European herb Silene gallica of the Illecebraceae, with small white to red flowers, and fruit-capsules which produce many tiny black seeds.
1860 Harvey & Sonder Flora Capensis I. 127Silene gallica...This is the ‘Gunpowder-weed’ of the colonists, its black seed resembling powder.
1897 Edmonds & Marloth Elementary Botany 139Silene...Several species of Campion, also the so-called ‘Gunpowder Weed’ (S. gallica).
1903 G. Henslow S. Afr. Flowering Plants 103A troublesome cornfield weed introduced from Europe is S. gallica, called ‘Gunpowder weed’ by the colonists.
1926 J.B. Davy Manual of Flowering Plants of Tvl I. 149S. gallica...Gunpowder weed...The black seeds resemble grains of gunpowder.
1946 M. Wilman Check List of Flowering Plants of Griqualand W. 16S[ilene] gallica..an increasingly frequent weed; September. Gunpowder weed.
1966 C.A. Smith Common Names 240Gunpowder weed, Silene gallica.
1991 Dict. of Horticulture (Dept of Nat. Educ.) 262Silene gallica (gunpowder weed).
The naturalized European herb Silene gallica of the Illecebraceae, with small white to red flowers, and fruit-capsules which produce many tiny black seeds.
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Afrikaans
gumpaauw, nounn.Gun War, noun phrasen. phr.
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