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Patterson's curse

Patterson's curse noun: the plant Echium plantagineum, considered a noxious weed in Australia.

patterson's curse: the plant Echium plantagineum, considered a noxious weed in Australia
Image: Martybugs, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

Patterson's curse (uncountable)

  1. (Australia) The plant Echium plantagineum, considered a noxious weed in Australia.
    • 1905 J. H. Maiden, Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales, xvi.268, Quoted in 1985, G. A. Wilkes, A Dictionary of Australian Colloquialisms, second edition, Sydney University Press, →ISBN,
      That ‘Paterson’s Curse’ produces some feed is undoubted, but it is a smothering, rough, coarse plant ... the...
    • In spring the fields near the river are covered with beautiful mauve flowers, another pest, known as Patterson’s curse.1952, Glynde Nesta Griffiths, Some Southern Homes of New South Wales, page 20

Synonyms of Patterson's curse

Forms of Patterson's curse

alternative formPaterson's curse

Origin of Patterson's curse

Said to be named after the Patterson family who had it as an ornamental garden plant which spread and took over adjacent previously productive paddocks (though this was not the first large outbreak).

Questions about Patterson's curse

What does Patterson's curse mean?
Patterson's curse means the plant Echium plantagineum, considered a noxious weed in Australia.
What part of speech is Patterson's curse?
Patterson's curse is a noun.

Words near Patterson's curse in the dictionary

  1. pattersome
  2. Patterson
  3. Patterson Lakes
  4. Patterson syndrome
  5. Patterson Tract
  6. Patterson's curse
  7. Pattersonian
  8. Pattersons
  9. Patterton
  10. pattes
  11. Patteson

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Patterson's curse (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-Patterson's curse.ogg.

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