dragonwort

From dragon +‎ wort. Compare Middle English dragaunce, dragunce, dragance, dragans (“dragonwort”), from Old French dragonce, dragance, from Medieval Latin draguncia, dragancia (“dragonwort”), disfigured from the plural of dracontium (“dragonwort”), from Ancient Greek δρακόντιον (drakóntion, “dragonwort”).

dragonwort (plural dragonworts)

1. A perennial herb of Europe and Asia, Bistorta officinalis (syns. Persicaria bistorta, Polygonum bistorta), formerly used as an astringent.
2. A perennial herb of Greece and the Balkans, Dracunculus vulgaris.

• (Persicaria bistorta): adderwort, bistort, Easter giant, patience dock, red legs, snakeweed, sweet dock