hen and chicken

English

Etymology

From the growth habit of the plant: a larger, older plant surrounded by smaller, younger suckers.

Noun

hen and chicken (plural hen and chickens or hens and chickens)

1. Any of several groups of plants of similar appearance:
   1. certain succulents in family Crassulaceae:
      1. Sempervivum and Jovibarba spp., commonly called hen and chicks.
      2. Echeveria spp.
      3. Sedum spp., stonecrops.
   2. Chlorophytum comosum, spider plant, a commonly cultivated houseplant in family Asparagaceae.
   3. Bergenia, a non-succulent Asian plant genus in family Saxifragaceae.
   4. Asplenium bulbiferum (hen and chicken fern), of New Zealand.

Related terms

• hen and chicks