hosta

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Related to hosta: Funkia

hos·ta

(hō′stə, hŏs′tə)

Any of various perennial plants of the genus Hosta, native to East Asia and widely cultivated for their attractive shade-tolerant foliage and tall racemes of white, blue, or lilac flowers. Also called funkia, plantain lily.

[New Latin Hosta, genus name, after Nicolaus Thomas Host (1761-1834), Austrian botanist.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hosta

(ˈhɒstə)

(Plants) any plant of the liliaceous genus Hosta, of China and Japan: cultivated esp for their ornamental foliage

[C19: New Latin, named after N. T. Host (1761–1834), Austrian physician]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

hos•ta

(ˈhoʊ stə, ˈhɒs tə)

n., pl. -tas.

any of various plants belonging to the genus Hosta, of the lily family, as the plantain lily.

[< New Latin (1797), after Nicolaus Thomas Host (1761–1834), Austrian botanist; see -a²]

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Noun

Hosta - robust east Asian clump-forming perennial herbs having racemose flowers: plantain lilies; sometimes placed in family Hostaceae

Funka, genus Funka, genus Hosta

liliid monocot genus - genus of monocotyledonous plants comprising mostly herbs having usually petaloid sepals and petals and compound pistils

family Liliaceae, Liliaceae, lily family - includes species sometimes divided among the following families: Alliaceae; Aloeaceae; Alstroemeriaceae; Aphyllanthaceae; Asparagaceae; Asphodelaceae; Colchicaceae; Convallariaceae; Hemerocallidaceae; Hostaceae; Hyacinthaceae; Melanthiaceae; Ruscaceae; Smilacaceae; Tecophilaeacea; Xanthorrhoeaceae

day lily, plantain lily - any of numerous perennials having mounds of sumptuous broad ribbed leaves and clusters of white, blue, or lilac flowers; used as ground cover

References in periodicals archive ?

* John Richter opens his private garden in Warrenville to share the beauty of his various grafted trees, thousands of day lilies and more than 750 varieties of hostas. To schedule a tour, call (630) 393-3279.

Home and garden calendar

A relatively compact plant, Hosta 'White Feather' looks striking in the front of a border.

OFFER of the week

In last week's homemaker, garden designer Sean Murray wrote about his love of hostas and said there is "no ultimate deterrent" to snails munching through the leaves.

I THINK I'm beginning [...]

Funny Mouse and Hosta 'Abiqua Miniature' are just the ticket and I grow then in old pigeon nest pans amongst their showier cousins.

Your garden in July: Sean Murray's tips for North East gardeners; Sean Murray won the BBC/RHS Chelsea Garden Challenge 2015. Here is his column for gardeners in the North East

Eric Smith, who bred some of the most special plants ever, was responsible for this breathtaking hosta. He was a plantsman of vision who helped create some of the best herbaceous plants we have the privilege to grow.

A PERFECT HOStA; With hundreds of hostas to choose from, there is a cultivar for every gardener's taste.. but one in particular stands out

Yellow a Hosta Patiently, he collected the seed, sowed it and grew on the resultant seedlings.

A favourite from a host of hostas... With hundreds of hostas to choose from there is a cultivar to suit every gardener's taste. But one in particular grabs the eye ask carol

And even the often-disdained hosta flower is gaining admiration.

Hostas; Garden staple turning over a new leaf

Here he would plant Hosta, 'Sagae'; Heuchera, 'Caramel'; a Japanese grass called Hakonechloa macra, 'Aureola'; Pulsatilla vulgaris, 'Purple'; and Aruncus dioicus (Giant goat's beard).

Shady characters: believe it or not, some plants work best in sunlight-challenged spaces

Hosta pays homage to this important aspect of nature by highlighting its riches.

If I Were a Tree

Yellow edges of the blue-green hosta echo chartreuse Hakonechloa, gold and green artemisia, and lime-colored euphorbia blooms.

Greens to envy: a simple palette enlivens a dark corner

"One of the biggest problems about mountaintop removal is that it employs so few people," says Hillary Hosta, an activist with the Coalfield Sustainability Project.

In defense of mountains: on the frontlines against destructive mining

I've also found a Hosta Janet, which seems to be quite popular.

Gardening: Turkish delight for all seasons; Kirsty King from Ground Force answers all your questions and takes the guess work out of getting your garden in order