‖Ec‐bal″li‐um (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. �. See Ecbole.] (Bot.) A genus of cucurbitaceous plants consisting of the single species Ecballium agreste (or Elaterium), the squirting cucumber. Its fruit, when ripe, bursts and violently ejects its seeds, together with a mucilaginous juice, from which elaterium, a powerful cathartic medicine, is prepared.
Content
Rights and sources
Review source, license and attribution information for this content.
Content
Webster's Dictionary 1913
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, C. & G. Merriam Co., 1913.