ajuga

noun

aju·​ga ˈa-jə-gə 

plural ajuga or ajugas

: bugle entry 1

Examples of ajuga in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Ajuga reptans, commonly called ajuga or bugleweed. —Janet Carson, Arkansas Online, 13 Dec. 2021

Instead: Though its flowers aren't fragrant, ajuga also can grow in shady spots similar to lily-of-the-valley, but won't take over the garden. —Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Sep. 2022

Not to be confused with the layman’s idea of ground cover, such as ajuga or English ivy, this foundational layer, from 6 to 12 inches tall, is meant to function like a canvas, accounting for about 50% of your plant material. —Catherine Romano, WSJ, 13 Aug. 2022

Groundcovers like ajuga may survive, if not thrive. —Jessica Damiano, BostonGlobe.com, 15 May 2022

Anemone, astilbe, fern, hosta, oakleaf hydrangea, ligularia, rhododendron, toad lily, and woodland phlox thrive in many mainland U.S. regions; ajuga, clivia, tropical gingers and bromeliads are good choices for the warmest climates. —Jessica Damiano, BostonGlobe.com, 15 May 2022

The common ajuga is the smaller dark purple one in the shot, while the large foliaged one is Caitlen’s Giant. —Janet Carson, Arkansas Online, 13 Dec. 2021

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, genus name, probably from a mistaken reading of Latin abiga, name for a plant of the genus (as Ajuga chamaepitys), taken by pliny the Elder as a derivative of Latin abigere "to drive away, reject, dispel," from the use of the plant as an abortifacient

Note: The genus Ajuga was initiated by linnaeus in Species plantarum, vol. 2 (Stockholm, 1753), p. 561. The plant name ajuga appears in sixteenth-century editions of Pliny's Historia naturalis (book 24, chapter 19) and in Latin translations of Dioscorides, sometimes alongside abiga. The ultimate source of the misreading has apparently not been determined. In an edition of Historia naturalis by the physician and humanist Alessandro Benedetti (Venice, 1507) the word is written a juga, as if a prepositional phrase, though the index spells it as a single word.

First Known Use

1640, in the meaning defined above