Definition

1. Noun:
   • A shrub of salt marshes: A woody plant found in coastal salt marshes of eastern and south central North America and the West Indies.
   • Distinctive fruit: Its fruit is notable for being surrounded by white, plumelike, hairy tufts that aid in seed dispersal.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The coastal ecosystem is stabilized by hardy plants like the cotton-seed tree.
  • We identified the shrub by its distinctive fluffy fruits; it was a cotton-seed tree.

Advanced Usage

• In botanical descriptions: The term is used in ecological and botanical contexts to describe a specific halophyte (salt-tolerant plant) species.
  • The study focused on the role of the cotton-seed tree in preventing erosion in the marsh.

Variants and Related Words

• Botanical name: (also commonly known as eastern baccharis, groundsel bush, or sea myrtle).
• Related terms: Salt marsh shrub, halophyte.

Synonyms

• Eastern baccharis
• Groundsel bush
• Sea myrtle

Notes

• The "cotton-seed tree" is not a true tree but typically a large shrub. The name derives from the cotton-like appearance of its seed tufts, not from any relation to the cotton plant ().

Noun

1. a shrub of salt marshes of eastern and south central North America and West Indies; fruit is surrounded with white plumelike hairy tufts