What is "chelone"

Chelone \Che*lo"ne\, n. [Gr. chelw`nh a tortoise. So named from shape of the upper lip of the corolla.] (Bot.) A genus of hardy perennial flowering plants, of the order Scrophulariace[ae], natives of North America; -- called also snakehead, turtlehead, shellflower, etc.

n. (context botany English) (taxlink Chelone genus), a genus of four species of perennial herbaceous plants that are native to eastern North America.

Chelone may refer to:

• Chelone (plant), commonly known as turtleheads
• Chelone (Greek mythology)
• Chelone formation, Greek term for Testudo formation

Chelone is a genus of four species of perennial herbaceous plants native to eastern North America. They all have similarly shaped flowers (which led to the name turtlehead due to their resemblance to the head of a turtle), which vary in color from white to red, purple or pink. C. cuthbertii, C. glabra, and C. lyonii are diploid and C. obliqua is either tetraploid or hexaploid.