OLD MAN'S BEARD

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does old man's beard mean? 

• OLD MAN'S BEARD (noun)
  The noun OLD MAN'S BEARD has 3 senses:

1. dense festoons of greenish-grey hairlike flexuous strands anchored to tree trunks and branches by sparse wiry roots; southeastern United States and West Indies to South America

2. vigorous deciduous climber of Europe to Afghanistan and Lebanon having panicles of fragrant green-white flowers in summer and autumn

3. common climber of eastern North America that sprawls over other plants and bears numerous panicles of small creamy white flowers

  Familiarity information: OLD MAN'S BEARD used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OLD MAN'S BEARD (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Dense festoons of greenish-grey hairlike flexuous strands anchored to tree trunks and branches by sparse wiry roots; southeastern United States and West Indies to South America

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

black moss; long moss; old man's beard; Spanish moss; Tillandsia usneoides

Hypernyms ("old man's beard" is a kind of...):

aerophyte; air plant; epiphyte; epiphytic plant (plant that derives moisture and nutrients from the air and rain; usually grows on another plant but not parasitic on it)

Holonyms ("old man's beard" is a member of...):

genus Tillandsia; Tillandsia (large genus of epiphytic or terrestrial sparse-rooting tropical plants usually forming dense clumps or pendant masses)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Vigorous deciduous climber of Europe to Afghanistan and Lebanon having panicles of fragrant green-white flowers in summer and autumn

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

Clematis vitalba; old man's beard; traveler's joy; traveller's joy

Hypernyms ("old man's beard" is a kind of...):

clematis (any of various ornamental climbing plants of the genus Clematis usually having showy flowers)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Common climber of eastern North America that sprawls over other plants and bears numerous panicles of small creamy white flowers

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

Clematis virginiana; devil's darning needle; old man's beard; virgin's bower

Hypernyms ("old man's beard" is a kind of...):

clematis (any of various ornamental climbing plants of the genus Clematis usually having showy flowers)