mountain avens

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

moun′tain av′ens, 

1. Plant Biology any evergreen plant of the genus Dryas, of the rose family, growing in northern or alpine regions of the Northern Hemisphere and having showy, solitary, white or yellow flowers.

• 1790–1800

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

mountain avens noun

1. See avens2

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

av•ens  (av′inz), n., pl. -ens. 

1. Plant Biology any of various plants of the genus Geum, of the rose family, having yellow, white, or red flowers.

• Medieval Latin avencia kind of clover
• Old French
• Middle English avence 1200–50

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

avens / ˈævɪnz/ noun ( -ens)(functioning as singular)

1. any of several temperate or arctic rosaceous plants of the genus Geum, such as G. rivale (water avens), which has a purple calyx and orange-pink flowers
   See also herb bennet
2. mountain avens ⇒ either of two trailing evergreen white-flowered rosaceous shrubs of the genus Dryas that grow on mountains in N temperate regions and in the Arctic

Etymology: 15th Century: from Old French avence, from Medieval Latin avencia variety of clover