Definition

Noun: * A specific plant species: A common name for Saxifraga stolonifera, a perennial flowering plant native to eastern Asia. It is characterized by its rounded, hairy leaves with silvery veins, small red-and-white flowers arranged on slender stalks (racemes), and its prolific reproduction through numerous creeping stems called stolons, which form new plantlets.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The mother-of-thousands is thriving in the shady corner of the garden.
  • I need to repot my mother-of-thousands because it has produced so many plantlets on its stolons.
  • Botanists appreciate the mother-of-thousands for its unique method of vegetative propagation.

Advanced Usage

• As a descriptor for prolific growth: The name is sometimes used metaphorically to describe something that multiplies or spreads abundantly and easily.
  • That idea spread through the community like a mother-of-thousands.

Variants and Related Words

• Strawberry Begonia (n): A common alternative name for the same plant (), referring to the strawberry-like way it spreads via stolons.
• Creeping Saxifrage (n): Another name highlighting its growth habit.
• Stolon (n): A horizontal stem that grows along the ground surface and can take root at nodes to form new plants; the primary means of reproduction for this species.

Synonyms

• Saxifraga stolonifera (n): The botanical Latin name.
• Aaron's beard (n): Another common name for the same plant.
• Roving sailor (n): A less common alternative name.

Notes on Meaning

• Important Distinction: "Mother-of-thousands" can refer to other, unrelated succulent plants (e.g., ) in casual gardening contexts. However, based on the provided reference definition, this entry specifically defines it as , the Asiatic saxifrage. The key identifying features from the definition are the red-and-white flowers and spreading by creeping stolons.

Noun

1. eastern Asiatic saxifrage with racemes of small red-and-white flowers; spreads by numerous creeping stolons