/bahr bas"koh, -bah"skoh/ , n. , pl. barbascos .
1. a shrub or small tree, Jacquinia barbasco, of tropical America, the source of a substance used to stun fish so they can be caught easily.
2. any similar plant yielding a substance that stuns or kills fish.
3. the fish-stunning or fish-killing substance obtained from these plants.
[ 1855-60; verbasco mullein verbascum ]