BIRD'S-NESTING

BIRD'S-NESTING Bird's-nest `ing, n.

bird's-nest

bird's-nest ▶noun 1 a North American brownish or yellowish flowering plant of the wintergreen family, with scalelike leaves. The bird's-nest is a saprophyte that lacks chlorophyll. Also called giant bird's-nest. [Pterospora andromeda, family Monotropaceae. ] 2 (also bird's-nest fungus ) a fungus of worldwide distribution that grows on dead wood and other plant debris. It produces a small bowl-shaped fruiting body that opens to reveal egg-shaped organs containing the spores. [Family Nidulariaceae, class Basidiomycetes: several genera and species, including the common Crucibulum levis. ]

bird's-nesting

bird's-nesting ▶noun [ mass noun ] the action or practice of hunting for birds' nests in order to take the eggs.

bird's-nest orchid

bird's-nest or chid ▶noun a European woodland orchid that lacks chlorophyll, the whole plant being yellowish-brown. It obtains nourishment by linking its nestlike mass of thick roots to a soil-dwelling fungus from which it absorbs nutrients. [Neottia nidus-avis, family Orchidaceae. ]

bird's-nest

bird's-nest ▶noun 1 a brownish or yellowish saprophytic flowering plant of the wintergreen family, with scale-like leaves. ●Two species in the family Monotropaceae (or Pyrolaceae ): the yellow bird's-nest (Monotropa hypopitys ) of north temperate regions, and the giant bird's-nest (Pterospora andromeda ) of North America. 2 (also bird's-nest fungus ) a Eurasian and North American fungus with a small bowl-shaped fruiting body that opens to reveal egg-shaped organs containing the spores. ●Family Nidulariaceae, class Gasteromycetes, including the common bird's-nest (Crucibulum laeve ).

bird's-nesting

bird's-nesting ▶noun [ mass noun ] the action or practice of hunting for birds' nests in order to take the eggs.

bird's-nest orchid

bird's-nest or ¦chid ▶noun a European woodland orchid which lacks chlorophyll, the whole plant being yellowish brown. Its nest-like mass of thick roots absorbs nutrients from a soil-dwelling fungus. ●Neottia nidus-avis, family Orchidaceae.