dȯˈsōnēə, -nyə noun
Usage: capitalized
Etymology: New Latin, from Dawson Turner died 1858 English botanist + New Latin -ia
: a genus (the type of the family Dawsoniaceae) of large tufted erect mosses occurring in Australasia and the East Indies and having a dorsiventral capsule and a peristome subtended by numerous filamentous hairs — see dawsoniales , giant moss