MESEMBRYANTHEMUM

[me.sem.bry.an.the.mum] n [NL, irreg. fr. Gk mesembria midday (fr. mes- + hemera day) + anthemon flower, fr. anthos--more at anthology] (1753): any of a genus (Mesembryanthemum) of chiefly southern African fleshy-leaved herbs or subshrubs of the carpetweed family