noun
- a climbing plant with heart-shaped leaves and curved flowers, formerly used in traditional medicine to assist childbirth
Usage: botanical; historical
Examples
- The herbalist gathered birthwort from the old garden wall.
- Birthwort was once commonly used by midwives in medieval times.
- The distinctive curved flowers of birthwort bloom in early summer.
- Traditional healers believed birthwort could ease labor pains.
- Birthwort grows wild in parts of southern Europe.
- The heart-shaped leaves make birthwort easy to identify.