Find the word definition

The Collaborative International Dictionary
Hercules-club

Hercules'-club \Hercules'-club\, Hercules'-club \Hercules'-club\, Hercules-club \Hercules-club\prop. n.

  1. (Bot.) A densely spiny ornamental tree ( Zanthoxylum clava-herculis) of the rue family, growing in southeast U. S. and West Indies. [WordNet sense 1]

    Note: It belongs to the same genus as one of the trees ( Zanthoxylum Americanum) called prickly ash.

    Syn: Hercules'-clubs, Hercules-club, Zanthoxylum clava-herculis.

  2. A small, prickly, deciduous clump-forming tree or shrub ( Aralia spinosa) of eastern U.S.; also called Angelica tree and prickly ash. [WordNet sense 2]

    Syn: American angelica tree, devil's walking stick, Aralia spinosa.

  3. A variety of the common gourd ( Lagenaria vulgaris). Its fruit sometimes exceeds five feet in length.